Her Room
by SweetDreamsAreMadeOfMe
Summary: Jazmine receives a phone call in the middle of the night from an unexpected someone.  Marvin's Room-Drake
1. I'm Just Sayin'

**Had to do it because I love this song. Hope you like it. This is my first story ever so please give feedback. Tell me what you think. **

**Disclaimer- I don't own The Boondocks or ''Marvin's Room"**

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><p>Twenty four year old Jazmine DuBois locked the door behind her and placed her keys and handbag on the small wooden table near the door. The spacious two bedroom apartment was quiet and dark, which meant that her fiancé wasn't home. As Jazmine kicked off her tall stilettos, she glanced at the clock hanging on the wall in the hallway. Half past ten, it read. Jazmine heaved a heavy sigh and made her way to the bathroom, her soft footsteps sounding loud in the quiet apartment. Her fiancé had texted her earlier that evening while she had dinner with her parents. He'd said that he wouldn't be home that night. He would be at his office 'working' on some things and it would take all night.<p>

He didn't bother telling Jazmine what was so important that it couldn't wait until the morning.

But Jazmine hadn't questioned him. When she did, he always got upset and agitated, saying the same thing. Something along the lines of "Babe, I'm working hard for you. I wanna be able to get you whatever you want, whatever you need. Look, after the wedding, I promise, there'll be a lot more time for you and me. Don't worry so much, okay?" So, she didn't. Jazmine didn't worry about what he was really doing on those nights that he claimed he was working. Jazmine didn't worry about who he would text under the table on the now rare occasion that they shared dinner. She didn't worry about the cheap perfume clinging to his skin when he would crawl into bed with her. And she tried not to worry about the bruises, because they would fade after time and he would, eventually, maybe, return to the man she first knew. Jazmine was still having a bit of trouble with that last one.

Once in the bathroom, Jazmine began getting herself ready for bed. She pulled her not quite red, but not quite orange hair, into a loose bun. She didn't bother looking into the mirror as she cleaned off her makeup- she didn't want to see the bluish-purple bruises that marred her otherwise flawless skin.

After changing into a pair of pink cotton shorts and a faded black wifebeater- which she had to pull on gingerly due to the dull pain from the kick he delivered to her side- Jazmine climbed into bed. Jazmine ignored the empty and cold space next to her, instead pulling the comforter closer and drifting off to sleep a few moments later.

Jazmine was awoken a few hours later by the incessant trilling of her cell phone as it sat on the bedside table. She grabbed clumsily at the object before picking it up. Jazmine winced; after just waking up, looking at the bright light emitted from the cellular device was synonymous to looking into the sun.

The caller ID read 'unknown' with an unfamiliar number listed. Jazmine internally debated for a moment on whether or not to answer the call or just let voicemail take care of it and fall back asleep. She eventually chose the latter.

"Hello?'' Her voice was laden with sleepy confusion. Jazmine heard nothing. Taking the phone away from her ear, she glanced at the screen. She didn't accidentally press mute and the call was still connected.

"Hello?"

_Cups of the Rose _

_Bitches in my old phone_

_I should call one and go home _

_I've been in this club too long_

Another beat. Then Jazmine heard the caller's deep, rich, familiar voice."Jazmine?" The caller said her name as if he were unsure that it was really her.

Jazmine stopped rubbing her eyes and froze. No, this couldn't be happening. But, it was. He was calling her. Why would he call her? How did he get her number? She'd changed it quickly after they broke up so that he would stop sending her those pleading text messages.

Finally finding her voice, Jazmine spoke. "Uh, why-how did you get my number?''

She could practically see him slightly smirking and giving a little Kanye shrug. "You know me Jaz.'' No, she didn't. He was so complex that she'd given up trying to figure him out years ago. ''I have my ways.''

_But I've been drinking so much _

_That I'ma call her anyway and say _

_"Fuck that nigga that you love so bad _

_I know you still think about the times we had'' _

Jazmine rolled her pretty emerald green eyes and thought 'Right, because that doesn't sound creepy as hell. Wait. Was he-'

_(Are you drunk right now?) _

''Are you drunk right now?'', Jazmine asked once she registered the slight slurring of his voice.

"Yeah, I am. I got a little crazy tonight,'' his voice was nonchalant, as if he drank all of the time. This, of course, wasn't the case.

''Where are you? Do you know what time it is? It's-'' Jazmine glanced at her digital alarm clock with its glowing red numbers-'' It's 2:56 in the morning.''

"Did I wake you up? I'm just walking around.''

Jazmine rolled her eyes once more. "Of course you woke me up. You're walking around at three in the morning? Where? Are you sure that's safe?"

_I'm just sayin', you could do better _

_Tell me have you heard that lately? _

_I'm just sayin' that you could do better _

_And I'll start hatin', only if you make me _

Jazmine listened to him mutter something about her worrying too much. She was suddenly reminded of her fiancé. "I was at a party with some friends. They dragged me along. Said I needed to have some fun…whatever that means." He added the last part as if it were an afterthought. "I'm in Chicago. Downtown. I needed some fuckin' air.''

Jazmine made a noise of understanding, but said nothing else. She didn't know what to say to him. "I ran into Cindy the other day," he said bringing back her attention.

Jazmine furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She had stopped by Cindy's place after finishing dinner with her parents and her best friend had said nothing of running into him. "Oh, yeah?"

"Uh huh. I asked her about you. She's the one that gave me your number. Said I should call you," he admitted. So he was asking about her? Jazmine suddenly didn't know what to think.

_Uh, cups of the XO _

_All my people been here I see all of her friends here _

_Guess she don't have the time to kick it no more _

_Flights in the morning _

_What you doing that's so important? _

_I've been drinkin' so much _

_That I'ma call anyway and say _

"She told me." Jazmine felt everything in her just deflate. So, this is why he was calling. "You're marrying him." It wasn't a question, but a statement. That statement was filled with some accusation, a lot of anger, and a pinch (just a pinch because he wasn't too keen on showing any other emotion besides anger; it was weak and he didn't do weak) hurt.

Upon hearing his tone, for a reason Jazmine didn't want to admit, she felt like crying. "Look, I-"

"Caesar? Really, Jaz? Come on, not that nigga."

"_Fuck that nigga that you love so bad _

_I know you still think of all the times we had" _

"Caesar, he loves me," Jazmine said. "And…I love him." The hesitance in her voice didn't go unnoticed by him as she had hoped it would.

"You love him?_" _Jazmine winced at his derisive tone. "Don't patronize me, Jazmine. You don't love him. You and I both know it."

Jazmine stayed silent. She didn't deny his words, mostly because deep down, she knew they were true.

"He's not there is he? I know he's not, otherwise you would have never picked up." His accusing tone bothered Jazmine as she glanced at the empty spot next to her in bed.

_I say __"fuck that nigga that you think you found _

_and since you picked up __I know he's not around" _

_"_He had to work late tonight." Even as she said it, Jazmine knew it wasn't true, could feel it, but for some reason she felt as though she had to defend her fiancé. Despite all the wrong he'd done to her.

He scoffed loudly. "Right. You do know what most niggas, Caesar included I'm sure, are doing when they're working late? Especially at this time of night?" He didn't wait for a reply. "It's usually someone else."

"Look," Jazmine's voice was unsteady with tears. She'd already known this, but to have it come from someone else, especially him, crushed her. "I don't need this. Not from you. Ever since we've gotten engaged, I've asked myself why I'm with Caesar. But, I can't- I can't just leave him."

He sighed on the opposite end and Jazmine imagined him carding a large hand through his hair. "You shouldn't have to ask yourself why you're with someone. We both know that you can do better, Jaz. You deserve better." His voice was soft and soothing. Jazmine closed her eyes. She'd missed his voice.

_I'm just sayin', you could do better _

_Tell me have you heard that lately _

_I'm just sayin' you could do better _

_And I'll start hatin' only if you make me _

"I know," Jazmine said carefully touching the bruise surrounding her left eye. "I know."

The two lapsed into a comfortable silence, both absorbed in their thoughts, before he broke it a few minutes later. "Do you still think about us? All the times we had?"

Jazmine cracked a small, sad smile. Her eyes burned with tears for some reason. Her voice soft she replied, "Of course I do. How could I ever forget? You were my first everything."

He chuckled. "Remember our first kiss?"

Jazmine let out a laugh. One of those loud, uncaring, liberating laughs. It felt good to have something to laugh about. "It was during that really bad snowstorm junior year. You came over because I was alone since my parents went on some trip. I was crying about how we were going to freeze to death and you kissed me to shut me up." Jazmine paused, her bright smile turning into a slight frown. "Although, I never did figure out why you did that."

_I was just calling cause they were just leaving_

_Talk to me please, __don__'__t have much to believe in  
><em>

_I need you right now, are you down to listen to me?_

"Did what?"

"Why did you kiss me that night? You had never given me the slightest indication that you liked me." Jazmine heard him sigh. He stayed quiet a few moments. Jazmine thought he might be trying to gather her thoughts before speaking.

"I had loved you for the longest , Jaz. I just…didn't think that you were interested." He paused for a beat before continuing. "Anyway, we were together in that house, alone, and you were there, with me, looking all kinds of beautiful and I had to do something about it. I couldn't stand the thought of being just a friend anymore. I love you too damn much to be just a friend."

Jazmine stayed silent, not daring to say a word, as her heart fluttered in a way that it never had during her entire relationship with Caesar. She noticed that he'd said 'love' instead of 'loved' and it sent her heart into a frenzy.

"Jazmine? Jaz?" His voice was panicked. He must've thought that she hung up on him, she had been so quiet.

_I'm lucky that you picked up  
><em>

_Lucky that you stayed on _

_I need someone to put this weight on...__  
><em>

Jazmine shook her head back and forth. She wasn't going to go there. It would do her no good. She was getting married in four weeks. "I'm still here."

"Good." His voice reverted back to the soft, soothing tone reserved for only her. "It's late. I should let you go." Jazmine noticed that his voice sounded a bit reluctant. "Get some sleep, aiight?"

"I've missed you Huey."

Huey said nothing for a few seconds, obviously not expecting such a thing, before he cleared his throat, before quickly saying, "I've missed you too Jazmine." A small and wistful smile tugged a Jazmine's lips.

"Goodnight Huey."

"Goodnight Jazmine."

Jazmine ended the call then stared down at her iPhone as if the thing were something foreign. Shaking her head once more, Jazmine saved the unknown number to her contacts under 'Huey F.' Jazmine placed her iPhone on her bedside table and pulled the comforter over herself. This time, as she hugged her pillow, for the first time ever, she didn't really care that the cold, empty space next to her wasn't occupied by her fiancé.

_I__'__m just sayin__'__, you could do better_ …

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><p><strong>Hope you liked it. Drop me a review. Maybe I can continue this?<strong>


	2. The Morning After

**Author's ****Note****- ****First ****and ****foremost****, ****thank ****you ****for ****all ****of ****the ****reviews ****and ****alerts ****and ****favorites****. ****I ****was ****not ****expecting ****the ****response ****that ****I ****got ****for ****this****. ****I ****had ****planned ****for ****this ****to ****be ****a ****one****shot****, ****because ****I'm ****one ****of ****those ****annoying ****people ****who ****tend ****to ****not ****finish ****the ****things ****that ****they ****start ****and ****I ****really ****hate ****doing ****that****. ****I ****guess ****it's ****an ****Aries ****thing****? ****Anyway****, ****ya'll ****encouraged ****me ****to ****continue ****and ****I ****decided ****that ****I ****would****. This story might move at a slow pace, I don't want to rush anything. ****This ****chapter ****is ****of ****the ****night ****after ****Huey ****and ****Jazmine's ****phone ****convo****. **

**Disclaimer- I do not own "The Boondocks"**

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><p>Riley Freeman banged loudly on the door to apartment 4E. He banged as though he were one of Chicago's finest and he did so without any regard for the three other tenants on the floor. The rowdy young man could give a fuck less.<p>

"Ay, nigga! Open up! I know you in there!", Riley shouted when he heard the crash of an object against the floor. The twenty-two year old shifted his weight from one foot to the other, growing increasingly impatient. As he looked around the tight, narrow hallway with its gray walls and musty carpeting, Riley caught sight of the white silver haired septuagenarian across the hall two doors down. His head was stuck outside of the door as he stared at Riley with wide eyes. Riley stared back into the old man's watery green eyes. "Duh, mothafucka! Fuck is you lookin' at?"

At Riley's loud voice and brash language, the man gasped, both scandalized and terrified. He quickly shut his door making sure to deadbolt it and secure the chain. He didn't want that crazed hooligan coming after him.

Riley rolled his eyes and sucked his teeth. "These white mothafuckas kill me", he muttered raising his hand, meaning to knock once more. The door opened before his fist hit the door as his older brother angrily yanked it open.

"Riley, what the fuck do you want?" Huey was in no mood to deal with his retarded little brother and his antics at 9:00 in the morning on a Sunday. Hell, after everything that had happened, or been said, the night before, he just didn't have the patience.

"Well, hello to you too, nigga. I guess somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed", Riley said, sneering at the less than hospitable welcome he received. "But that's nothing new. Plus, I came to find out what happened to you last night. Me and Hiro was lookin' for yo' ass." Riley pushed past Huey completely disregarding the fact that he hadn't been invited in.

Huey shut the door with his sock covered foot, grabbed a pullover he knew was clean from the floor to cover his bare chest and followed Riley into the kitchen with its ugly Pepto-Bismol pink walls that Huey hadn't quite gotten around to painting despite the fact that he had lived in the small apartment for a year. "I find it very hard to believe that you and Hiro stopped your drinking and chasing after half naked so-called models to look for me."

Riley snatched open Huey's old refrigerator, looking for something to either eat or drink. He skipped breakfast. "Okay, okay, we spent like, ten minutes lookin' for yo' ass, but then said 'fuck it'. Shit, I figure if you ever get into trouble, you better put that black belt to use, Blackie Chan."

Huey rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Riley. And try not to drink up all of my orange juice like you did the other day. That's my good shit," Huey said as Riley brought the carton of orange juice to his lips and guzzled it's contents. After drinking what Huey was sure was the whole damn thing, Riley set the carton down on the tiled counter and let out a loud, unbecoming burp.

Huey raised his right eyebrow. "You're disgusting."

Riley raised himself onto the counter, kicking against the cabinets knowing it would bother Huey because he was "fucking his shit up", and shrugged. "Fuck you and yo' opinions, nigga."

Huey shook his head, but bit his tongue. He wasn't about to waste his breath on Riley's simple ass.

"But for real, though. Where'd yo' gay ass run off to last night? Did you find some ho willing to put up with yo' bitch ass and give you some booty?"

Huey shook his head. ''No, dumbass. I went for a walk. That place was too crowded and too hot and I needed to get some air."

Riley gave Huey the side eye, doubt written all over his handsome features. "Ay, nigga, yo' ass left and didn't come back. You tellin' me all you did was take a walk?"

Yeah, that's what Huey was saying, but it wasn't necessarily true. He had conveniently left out the part where he'd called his ex girlfriend, Jazmine DuBois, while he was more than a little tipsy walking around downtown Chicago at three in the morning. It had been the first time Huey had spoken to Jazmine in about two years and he spent half of it bitching about the fact that she was due to get married to…that one guy in four weeks. Huey then spent the other half of the time talking to Jazmine telling her that she could do better, reminiscing, and admitting that he was still in love with her. He still couldn't believe that he'd said that. Huey had spent ten minutes after hanging up with Jazmine debating whether or not he should give himself a swift kick up the ass. Huey was still having trouble figuring out why he'd decided to use the number Cindy had given him; it had been burning a hole in his pocket since the day he got it. Huey hadn't decided if it was the alcohol he had consumed or the fact that he kept wondering how and what Jazmine was doing that prompted him to call. If anyone ever asked, he'd blame it on the booze.

"Yeah, pretty much. I came home after a while."

Riley seemed to accept the lie and launched into a story about the pair of best friends he and Hiro had ran into the night before. One a "fly ass redbone with a fat ass" and the other an Amber Rose look-alike, bald head and all, that Riley kept calling Cailou. Huey thought that it was rude to nickname the girl after a bald headed four year old from a children's show, but he didn't comment.

"I mean, Cailou was sexy and all, but I couldn't fuck her." Riley shook his head as he shoveled a handful of trail mix into his mouth. "Shit, a nigga need some hair to grab onto, ya dig?" Riley laughed, pausing when he saw Huey's bored and unenthusiastic face. Sucking, his teeth, Riley jumped down from the counter, his shoulder length braids shaking with the movement. "You's a borin' ass nigga, you know that? Damn! Talkin' to you is like holding convo with a fuckin' brick wall. Fuckin' impossible!"

Huey merely blinked. "Well, if I'm so damn boring, you can leave Riley. Go find a job or something."

Riley took a step back, an affronted look painting his face. "Nigga, say what? Bitch, please! I got a job. Reezy gots a job!"

Huey smirked. Riley was getting worked up and defensive. It was always a funny sight. "That's nice. Now you've got a reason to get the fuck up out of my apartment."

Riley stared at his older brother for a long, silent moment before rolling his brown eyes. "You wanna know somethin', nigga? Yo' mean ass is probably gonna stay alone and lonely for the rest of yo' sorry ass days. I suggest you find somebody to fix that, with yo' gay ass." Riley picked up the half finished bag of trail mix as he left, eying Huey as if daring him to say something about it. "And I'm takin' these with me!"

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><p>Cindy McPhearson jogged down the wide charcoal carpeted staircase of her family's house. She'd inherited it a couple of years ago, along with more money than she would ever need, when her parents died in a car crash. Though it was way too big for herself, she couldn't find it in her to part with it. At least not yet.<p>

Cindy pushed back a blond strand of hair that kept falling into her eyes and opened the door. "Jazzy!" Cindy didn't notice Jazmine wince at the loud screech. She was too busy hugging Jazmine like she hadn't seen her the day before.

Cindy let go of Jazmine a few moments later and invited her in. "Ooh, girl, I like them shades. Where you get them from?"

Jazmine followed Cindy into the sunlit, expansive, barely used kitchen and sat at one of the stools at the island. Jazmine pushed the aviators up to her head, conscious of the Bobbi Brown concealer and foundation covered bruise surrounding her left eye. Four days later and the damn thing still hurt like a bitch. "Oh, these are pretty old."

Cindy reached into the stainless steel refrigerator and grabbed two bottles of water, tossing one to Jazmine. "They mad cute. So, what's been goin' on?"

Jazmine opened her bottle of water and took a long sip. She wasn't thirsty. She was stalling. Trying to find a way to tell Cindy in the most nonchalant, unaffected way possible about her and Huey's conversation the night before. Jazmine came up short. "Uh, I wanted to talk to you."

Cindy straightened, studying Jazmine suspiciously. Something was wrong. It didn't seem like anything too bad, something bad enough for her to cry about or whatever. Cindy glanced down at Jazmine's left hand. Oh. That big ass ring was still there. So, Caesar was still in the picture. Cindy fought to keep from rolling her eyes. She didn't really like Caesar. Cindy couldn't really explain why. Something about him just...rubbed her the wrong way. She only tolerated his mop headed ass because he made her homegirl happy. "What's up, girl?"

Jazmine sighed heavily through her nose. She wasn't looking at Cindy; Cindy noticed. "Last night, uh, I got a phone call."

Cindy's brow furrowed in confusion. 'That's it?' "Okay...", Cindy said encouraging Jazmine to continue.

Jazmine looked up at Cindy, ripping the paper off of her water bottle. "From Huey."

The sight of Cindy's crystal blue eyes growing wide might have been funny to Jazmine had it happened under different circumstances. "Stop lyin'." Cindy's voice was laced with incredulity. "Nuh-unh. No, he did not."

But Jazmine nodded sagely, confirming that no, she wasn't lying and yes, he really did call her.

"Damn, girl, that's tough. Did ya'll, you know, talk?"

Jazmine moved her lips to the left as she ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah, we did. Oh yeah, he told me about you giving him my number a few weeks ago." Jazmine gave Cindy a glare.

Cindy responded with stink face of her own. "Ugh, why you lookin' at me like that? Like I killed yo' dog and put ya moms in the hospital."

"Cin," Jazmine said the nickname through gritted teeth," why would you give him my number? He didn't have it for a reason."

Cindy threw her hands up, exasperated. "Damn, I ain't think he was gonna use it. Besides, Jaz, you should've seen Afro Samurai's face when I told him you were getting married. He looked...", Cindy trailed off, trying to find the right word. "I don't know, like, disappointed. I told him that he should call you. 'Hear it straight from the horse's mouth' kind of thing." Cindy wasn't about to tell Jasmine the other reason why she had given Huey her number. Cindy was Team Huey. She'd secretly been hoping since those two broke up about two and a half years ago, that something like fate and destiny would somehow bring them back together. They had been good together before all of the foolishness. Not that Cindy and Huey still didn't have that love-hate thing going between them, because it had been strong when they ran into each other at an art gallery in the city, but even Cindy could admit that she loved the thought of Huey and Jazmine being together. Cindy started to get a little excited. Maybe this was the work of fate and destiny.

"So, what he say?"

Jazmine shrugged her slim shoulders. "Not much. We didn't talk for long, but...", Jazmine smiled softly as she trailed off. Jazmine didn't know how much she had missed Huey until she heard that voice of his. Talking to Huey had been uncomfortable at first, strange even, but then they'd fallen back into an old, familiar routine. It was like hearing an old beautiful, melodious song for the first time in years and still being able to remember all of the words. "It was nice."

Cindy nodded, but still eyed her best friend suspiciously. Jazmine wasn't giving her all of the details, but that was okay. Cindy wasn't going to press. She'd be around when Jazmine really wanted to talk. "Well, that's good."

"Yeah. Hey, I have an appointment with the caterer at around 12. Do you want to come?" Jazmine asked, effectively changing the course of the conversation without Cindy really noticing. "I could really use you there. I think last time the guy was trying to hit on me."

Cindy smirked a bit and tossed her long, blond hair over her left shoulder. In the prim and proper, bougie accent that she used to hear from the bored and boring socialites at the fundraisers her parents would drag her to kicking and screaming once a year, Cindy said, "Well, I am the maid of honor. I guess I'm sort of obligated to do these sort of things."

Jazmine gave a smirk of her own as she lightly bumped her shoulder against Cindy's. "Oh, please. You know as well as I do that this isn't about your maid of honor duties. You know you're going for the free food."

"Well, a sistah's got to eat, right?" She and Jazmine collapsed into a fit of giggles. They looked like little school girls. After a moment, Cindy took a deep breath, quickly sobering. "Okay, okay, but what about the groom? Shouldn't Caesar have some sort of say?"

Jazmine's smiled dropped off of her face at the mention of her fiancé who, by the way, hadn't come home the night before. Normally, Jazmine would have dialed Caesar's cell first thing in the morning when he pulled this kind of thing. But Jazmine found herself unwilling to do so this morning. She had wondered if it had anything to do with Huey. Jazmine ran a hand over her brow. "Right. Um, you know guys. Caesar isn't really into all of this stuff, so he's letting me take care of it."

Cindy screwed up her pretty face as she bent down to pull on her Jordans. She tugged at her old Wuncler High School hoodie. Hell, it was a Sunday and she wasn't trying to impress anybody. "All by yo'self, though? Hell no. Girl you had better talk to his ass. He needs to help you seeing as this is his wedding too. Shit, it ain't like you marrying yo'self or something."

Jazmine smiled weakly, too tired to even think up another excuse for Caesar. It seemed like that was all she was doing lately, offering excuses for Caesar's actions. It was getting old. "Yeah, I know. You have a point. I'll talk to him about it later tonight."

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><p><strong>Hope you liked it. Caesar next chapter? Drop me a review. Please. :) Peace.<strong>


	3. I Ain't An Abuser, But Don't Push Me

**Author's Note- Thank you to all who reviewed last chapter. Here goes some Caesar action. I'm kinda iffy about this one. Writing an Ike Turner-esque Caesar was a little hard for me. Well, here we go. Oh yeah, who remembers "A Different World"? I just got done watching the episode when Whitley is getting married & Dwayne is like "Marry me! Baby, please!" Could you imagine Huey doing that at Jazmine and Caesar's wedding?**

**Disclaimer- I do not own "The Boondocks"**

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><p>"Jazmine?" Michael Caesar walked slowly into the apartment the he shared with Jazmine. He looked around the living room, light streaming in through the windows from the moon and streetlights. Caesar knew that she wasn't home, Jazmine's car hadn't been in the parking lot, but he felt the need to make sure. Caesar faintly wondered where she was on a Sunday at, Caesar looked at his watch, squinting with the effort in the dark living room, 9:47. Caesar went to pull out his cellphone to call Jazmine again, but stopped short when he realized that he would most likely get the answering machine. Just like the last six times Caesar called.<p>

He wasn't exactly sure if his fiancee was simply too busy to answer his calls or if she was simply ignoring them. Caesar sighed, shrugging off his black suit jacket and tossing it onto the khaki colored sofa. He had a feeling that it was the latter.

Caesar sat down on the sofa, his dread-locked head in his hands. He hadn't come home last night, or the three nights before that. He tried to make himself scarce around the apartment after his and Jazmine's explosive...conflicts. It gave them time to cool off and get themselves together while he stayed at the Four Seasons. Caesar looked around the spotless living room. It hadn't looked like this the other night. There had been broken objects strewn across the floor, a hole punched into the wall that was now plastered and covered with a painting and...tiny splotches of blood decorating the wooden floor. Caesar clenched his fists and closed his eyes. How did he get this way? So angry that he would-Caesar swallowed past the lump in his throat- put his hands on Jazmine. Caesar felt ashamed of himself. He wondered why Jazmine was still with him.

Caesar stood from the sofa and made his way to the bedroom. He decided to take a shower. Maybe when he was finished, Jazmine would be home.

He flicked on the light next to the door and started to undress. Caesar had just taken off his white t-shirt when he noticed that the door to the walk-in closet was slightly ajar, as though someone (Jazmine) had been in a rush and forgot to completely shut it. Caesar stared at the door, his palms growing slick, a lump growing in his throat and his heart trying to jump out of his chest. 'Did she...no.' Caesar shook his head at his thoughts. Jazmine didn't take her things and leave. She wouldn't leave him. Jazmine loved him. Right?

Caesar walked over to the offending closet hesitantly. He counted to three before realizing just how ridiculous he was being and snatched open the door. Caesar walked into the closet, his dark brown eyes scanning Jazmine's side. There wasn't an empty hanger present and the bar was still crowded with nearly every piece of clothing Jazmine owned. He glanced down to the floor, where Jazmine's shoes were lined up against the wall, a couple of pairs still in their boxes.

Caesar sighed heavily. He refused to admit to himself that the feeling that made his body slump was relief.

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><p>At around 11:16, Jazmine walked into the house. After spending hours with the caterer and Cindy trying to decide between having the chicken or the duck for the entree at the reception then going back to Cindy's place to drink mojitos (one for her, four for Cindy. Jazmine had work in the morning.) and have a movie marathon (Poetic Justice, Set It Off, and The Inside Man), Jazmine just wanted to take a long hot bath with salts and bubbles and vanilla candles and go to sleep. She had made a promise to herself that, for the whole duration of that bath, she wouldn't think of her problems with Caesar and she wouldn't let Huey invade her thoughts. It sounded like a good plan. A good plan that went right out of the window when she saw Caesar's keys on the wooden table in the hallway. Jazmine tensed. This would be the first time that she saw him since Wednesday. It was Sunday. Jazmine desperately hoped that he wouldn't be in a mood. If he was it wouldn't turn out well for her, she was sure.<p>

"Caesar?" Jazmine walked cautiously into the dark living room, her emerald eyes scanning the room as if she expected Caesar to jump out of nowhere. When Jazmine walked right into the corner of the coffee table, her hands groped along the wall, trying to find the light switch. Jazmine turned on the light, only to jump in surprise.

"Oh!", Jazmine clutched at her chest, trying to calm herself. "Caesar? What are you doing sitting in the dark?"

Caesar's didn't even blink as he stared up at Jazmine from his spot on the sofa. Jazmine wondered just how long Caesar had been sitting there. He had his thick, dark, shoulder length dreadlocks loose, instead of tied at the nape of his neck like he usually wore them, a pair of black sweatpants and a white wife-beater. Jazmine inwardly rolled her eyes. The irony of that did not pass her by. "Where were you? I kept calling and you didn't pick up", Caesar said in an oddly even and calm voice. It confused Jazmine, scared her even. Any other time he asked her where she had been, his voice held an edge to it that told her that her ass had better not have been anywhere Caesar didn't approve of.

"Oh, um, I spent the day with Cindy. We- I asked her to come with me t-to meet with the caterer earlier." Jazmine felt like smacking herself. She couldn't even speak to this man, her fiance, without stuttering and her voice wobbling?

Caesar smiled the tiniest bit, not saying anything smart about Cindy like he normally would. "Girls day out, huh? How was the caterer?"

"Um, fine. We decided on a chicken entree", Jazmine said, running a hand through her hair, trying to calm her nerves. It didn't really work.

Caesar stood up, walking over to Jazmine. He stopped less than a foot away from Jazmine. She suddenly wished that he had stayed sitting on the couch. She could breath then. Caesar stared at Jazmine for a moment, his eyes intensely studying her like he was trying to commit her face to memory. He suddenly pulled his right hand out of the pocket of his sweats. Jazmine flinched visibly, expecting that hand to strike her like it had the other half a dozen times. But it didn't happen. Caesar slowly pushed a curly strand of hair behind Jazmine's ear. She didn't know if he saw her reaction or if he decided to ignore it.

"I missed you today, J."

Jazmine's brow furrowed in confusion. What? This was not the Caesar she had been expecting. This Caesar was the Caesar that she had fallen for. This Caesar was sweet, caring, and made Jazmine feel loved and beautiful and wanted. But Caesar hadn't been this Caesar for months. And the sudden change made Jazmine a bit uneasy. "I...I missed you too."

Caesar smiled brightly at that. He didn't notice the hesitance in Jazmine's voice. 'Huey would have noticed.' Jazmine slightly shook her head. Where did that thought come from?

Caesar grabbed both of Jazmine's hands, his face growing serious and forcing Jazmine to look up at him. Jazmine suddenly felt small and not in the way most girls liked to feel when they were close to their man. "I was thinking and I know that, um, I haven't been doing right by you lately." Jazmine clamped down on the urge to scoff and roll her eyes. No shit, Sherlock. "But, J, I-I'm gonna be better. Okay?"

This time Jazmine did sigh, her shoulders slumping. "Caesar-"

"No, J, look, I know it sounds like a bunch of bullshit. I know", Caesar looked off to the side before he continued, his now watery brown eyes boring into Jazmine's green ones. "But things are gonna change, okay? I won't- I'm going to be the man that you need me to be from now on. You deserve that, Jaz. And I'm gonna give it to you. I promise."

Jazmine looked at Caesar. She bit her lip when she saw the pleading, apologizing look in his eyes. Jazmine pulled her hands out of Caesar's grasp. Jazmine leaned up and placed a kiss to Caesar's chocolate cheek. "Okay."

"Okay?", Caesar asked, his eyes shining hopefully.

Jazmine flashed a small, false smile and nodded.

"Good", Caesar pressed a chaste kiss to Jazmine's lips. Jazmine let him do so. "I'm gonna go to bed, alright? It's been a long day. You comin'?"

Jazmine smiled that smile that was more plastic than Barbie and Ken put together. "Yeah, soon."

"Don't be too long." Jazmine watched as Caesar walked away from her until she couldn't see him anymore. Jazmine groaned. She was exhausted after that. Jazmine tiredly made her way to the bathroom, all thoughts of a long bath forgotten in exchange for a hot shower. She ignored the voice in her head telling her that being so forgiving, giving Caesar chance after chance, would eventually be her downfall.

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><p><strong>I don't know about this one. Maybe it's Caesar. Hopefully you liked it. There might be some Cindy and Riley next chapter. I haven't decided yet. Drop me a review. Please. :) Peace.<strong>


	4. I've Been Thinkin' 'Bout You

**Author's Note- Sorry for the wait ya'll. I didn't mean it. I got busy. Thank you for the reviews. Ya'll should see how hyped I get when I see a review in my inbox. :) Here's Riley and Cindy for you. **

**Disclaimer- I do not own The Boondocks**

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><p>"I couldn't believe dat shit, Cindy." Riley said shaking his head. He and Cindy were sitting in the back corner of the small coffee shop they often met up at. Riley didn't really care for it. The tables were too close together, it was too bright in here and the music...what the fuck? Was that that Lady Gaga bitch? And it didn't help that Riley's coffee tasted like ass even though he dumped enough sugar in it to send anybody into a diabetic coma. Not that Riley knew what ass tasted like...that would be gay. He was just saying.<p>

"That shit got too gay, too fast. A nigga had to put a pause to dat shit and bounce." Riley was speaking of the class he'd practically ran out of about an hour or so earlier when he'd learned that the day's lesson would be about studying the human form by sketching a nude model. Which had been fine with Riley. Drawing naked bitches? Shit, Riley would do that all day if he could. But, of course, that had been before Professor Allen introduced James. James the nude male model. Riley shuddered. The whole thing was just so. Fucking. Gay.

Cindy rolled her eyes as she fiddled with her digital camera. This was why she never introduced Riley to her friend Andre. Riley would only offend the fabulously flamboyant man. "Riley, you think everything is gay. So what if you had to draw some naked dude?"

Riley looked bewildered. "So what? So wh- Cindy this nigga was buck ass naked; chest out, dick hangin'. No homo," Riley quickly added. "I mean, what the fuck I look like drawin' some nigga's dick?"

Cindy sighed and closed her eyes. Oh, this boy was giving her a headache. "I don't know, like a professional? Riley, you gotta grow up." Cindy had been telling the boy the same thing for the longest. Why the hell wasn't he listening?

Riley scoffed loudly and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms with his bottom lip sticking out. It was always the same damn thing from Cindy. He was getting tired of hearing it. "Whatever. Reezy ain't around for that shit."

Cindy shook her head and went back to her camera. If Riley didn't care, shit, she didn't either.

The two sat there not saying anything to each other after that. Riley pulled out his cell phone to play Angry Birds and Cindy put her camera away, tucking it into her purse and sucking on the straw of her iced cappuccino. It wasn't until Riley lost his game that he spoke. "Yo, what you doin' tonight?"

"Tonight?" Cindy looked towards the ceiling and scrunched up her nose as she thought about it. If it ever got out that Riley loved to see her do that cute shit, he'd have to fuck a nigga up. Shit, he had a reputation to uphold. The blonde suddenly snapped her gold ring covered fingers as she remembered. "Oh yeah, I've already got plans."

"Plans?", Riley questioned. It was a Monday. Who really made plans for a Monday? "Okay, then cancel them shits. Come do somethin' wit me."

"Fool, is you deaf? I told yo' ass I was doin' somethin'. I'ma be busy tonight."

Riley sucked his teeth. It was real funny how every time Riley wanted Cindy to 'do something' with him, her ass suddenly had plans. "Okay, fine. You got plans. Plans wit' who?"

Cindy picked off a chunk of her blueberry muffin and tossed it in the general direction of Riley's head. It sailed past his braided head and hit the brown painted wall. "Mind yo' business, aiight? Don't worry about it."

'Don't worry about it?' Man, fuck that bullshit. "Why you won't tell me? What, you got a date or somethin'?," Riley asked. He didn't notice the jealousy that had seeped into his tone, but Cindy did. And it irritated the hell out of her.

Rolling her neck just as well, if not better, than some chickenhead from Compton, Cindy replied, "And what's it to you, Riley? If yo' ass must know, yes, I am going on a date tonight. With Jamal." Cindy then sat back in her chair, an eyebrow raised and a smug look coating her face.

Riley stared at Cindy. He knew that she knew that that would get him tight. Jamal? Really? Cindy would rather hang with that buster ass nigga than him? Tragic. "I didn't even know you was still talkin' to dat nigga."

Cindy shrugged. Jamal was a very tall, very dark and very handsome basketball player that Riley had introduced Cindy to at a frat party that he dragged her to about a month earlier. He was only doing it to be polite. Had he known that the nigga would ask Cindy out right after that they wouldn't even be having this conversation. "He's cool. I like him."

Riley grumbled. Cindy wasn't supposed to be going out on dates with niggas like Jamal. She was supposed to be doing that corny shit with him. "Man, whatever."

"Riley, what's the problem? I know this ain't just about me goin' out wit Jamal."

Rolling his eyes, Riley looked across the coffee shop and out of the window. He didn't look at Cindy when he said, "I just don't understan' why you won't give a nigga a second chance. I also don't understan' why you insist on dealin' with all these other buster ass niggas when I'm starin' you right in yo' face."

Cindy pursed her lips and fiddled with the black straw that came with her iced cappuccino. "Well I don't remember any other 'buster ass niggas' doin' me dirty." She shot a glare at Riley then, her blue eyes icy, and said accusingly, "Unlike some mothafuckas I know."

"Why I gotta be all that, Cindy? Plus that shit happened way back in high school; I was fifteen. When is yo' ass gon' get over it?"

"When I get over it!", Cindy snapped. She glanced down at Riley's cell phone sitting in the middle of the table between them. Why did she even call his ass? "Excuse me if I don't take kindly to niggas cheatin' on me with nasty hoes."

Riley lifted his hands, signaling Cindy to stop. "Hol' up, hol' up. Denise wasn't no ho. She was a nice girl."

Cindy smiled sarcastically. "Oh, okay, so it's fine to cheat as long as you do it with a nice girl?"

Riley blinked his light brown eyes. "I didn't say th-"

But he didn't get the chance to finish because the next thing Riley knew, Cindy had her purse hanging from her arm, her jacket on and was standing up, obviously ready to go. Whether Riley wanted her to or not. "Where the hell is you goin'?"

"I'm leavin'." Cindy picked up her half full cup of cappuccino and pushed in her chair. It squeaked loudly as it slid over the tiled floor, gaining looks from the other five customers in the coffee shop. Riley shot them all a menacing glare. Every single one of them went back to their business.

"Leavin'? What da fuck for? I thought we was talkin'?"

Cindy sighed and slipped on her sunglasses. Riley missed the sight of her blue eyes. "Not no more." She took three steps before she stopped and turned back around. "Oh, and don't call me later, Riley." Riley had a habit of calling Cindy when he knew she was out with a guy. He would call frequently and incessantly knowing that it would make her mad and that she would eventually pick up. Then, when she did finally pick up, one time after fifty two calls and thirty two text messages, Riley would feign ignorance, claiming that no, he hadn't been blowing her cell up. After all, why would he do that? He probably pocket dialed her. A mistake, really. "I'm not playin'. I'm lettin' you know right now, I ain't gon' pick up."

"Not even if a nigga was 'bout to die?"

"Nope." With that, Cindy gave Riley the deuces, pivoted on her heel and walked out of the coffee shop, her long blonde hair swinging with her movements.

"Crazy heifer. I can't believe I love her ass."

Riley sat at the small table until he realized how gay and lonely he looked sitting there staring at a half empty cup of shitty overpriced coffee. It wasn't a good look. He stood up from his seat, not bothering to push in the chair or throw out his cup. Riley had just stepped out of the coffee shop when his cell phone began to vibrate in his back pocket. Riley quickly reached for it because it could have been important. Not because it could have been Cindy.

"Sherise?"

Oh, yeah. That bitch from the other night, with the fat ass. Riley got a kool-aid grin on his face as he remembered the night they had after meeting. Riley had thought it would be a one time thing, but Sherise apparently had other plans. "Mhmm, that bitch likes the dick", Riley said to himself. He pressed the green button on his cell phone and brought it up to his ear, moving out of the way of a woman with braids and a crying baby pushing a stroller.

"Wassup, Ma?"

Riley wasn't looking for anything serious with Sherise. He barely knew her ass, after all. He really only wanted Cindy, but she wasn't giving him the time of day; she didn't want him. At least not yet. So, as Sherise spoke into his ear in what she probably thought was a seductive and sexy voice about the possibility of maybe seeing each other again, Riley decided that while he waited for Cindy to come to her senses and get with a nigga, that he'd keep himself busy with Sherise. It wasn't a great plan, but it would work for the time being.

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><p>"Goodnight, Tracy."<p>

"'Night, Jazmine." Jazmine gave a smile to the petite pixie cut wearing receptionist. Jazmine sighed in relief when she stepped out of the building where she taught ballet. The day had unreasonably long. The five, six, and seven year olds in her afternoon class were rowdier that ever. Jazmine made a mental note to ask the parents to make sure that they didn't give the kids any sugar before they dumped them on her as she unlocked her car. Jazmine briefly wondered if the parents did it on purpose.

She tossed her red duffel bag, filled with extra clothes and her worn out ballet shoes, into the backseat and plopped down into the driver's seat unlike the graceful dancer she was. Jazmine went to start the car but stopped short, her hand and the key about an inch away from the ignition, when she realized that she didn't really want to go home. And when Jazmine said that she didn't want to go home what she really meant was that she didn't really want to see Caesar. Jazmine dropped her keys in the cup holder beside her and sighed, closing her eyes and dropping her head against the head rest completely dismissing the idea that she might mess up the bun that took her fifteen minutes to do that morning.

Caesar had been in rare form all day. He was acting like the caring, sweet, attentive, romantic fiancé that both he and Jazmine knew he wasn't. At least not anymore. Jazmine had woken up to a tray of all of her breakfast favorites on the bedside table, a note taped to the edge. In Caesar's chicken scratch handwriting, he bid her a good day, told her that he loved her and that he'd see her later that night. Caesar had also decided to send flowers to her workplace accompanied by another card reading "I love you." They were hydrangeas; pretty, but Jazmine liked lilies best. She wasn't surprised that Caesar didn't know that after all this time. Jazmine ended up giving the bouquet to Tracy to put next to the phone in a glass vase after she 'oohed' and 'ahhed' over the things. Jazmine knew that these seemingly nice acts were just Caesar's way of trying to make her forget about all the bad things between them. Jazmine wished that he would stop trying.

Jazmine reached a hand up to the radio and flicked it on. It was one of those oldies but goodies stations with music before her time. But Jazmine liked it. As she sat in her car in the near empty parking lot listening to Etta James sing about crashing the wedding of the love of her life to watch him get married to another woman, Jazmine started getting melancholy. To write a song like that, you had to somehow go through it. Jazmine wondered how it would feel if that were her. She shook her head, changing the station. Her eyes were getting watery and a lump formed in her throat.

She continued going through stations, sporadically stopping on one only to change it again. Jazmine finally cut off the radio with a quick flick of the wrist. She glanced up at the sky through the windshield. Hues of dark purple, orange, and pink permeated the sky thanks to the sun sinking below the horizon. Jazmine sighed once more. She wanted to call someone, anyone, to talk about something, anything. Cindy had a date with some guy, and her parents...Jazmine loved them but she just wasn't in the mood. Jazmine tapped her fingers against the steering wheel. How boring. "You're bored because you're being boring.", she said out loud to herself. Jazmine then cracked a smile. She couldn't count the number of times Huey had said that to her during the span of their friendship and, later, relationship. Jazmine glanced at her phone sitting under her keys in the cup holder. A couple of days had passed since he'd called her and since she hung up the phone that night, she would find herself thinking of him. She wondered what he was doing at that moment. Jazmine picked up her phone. It felt uncharacteristically heavy in her hands. Biting the corner of her lip nervously, Jazmine went to her contacts and scrolled down to the number. She paused for just one short moment before pressing down on the green call button, her heart beating erratically. She brought the phone up to her ear and waited, the phone ringing loudly in her ear.

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><p><strong>Ya'll know who Jaz called. Expect that lovely conversation next chapter. I hope you liked it. Drop me a review, please. :) Peace.<strong>


	5. A Crash Course In Polite Conversation

**Author****'****s**** Note****- ****Thank ****you ****to ****those ****that ****reviewed**** last ****chapter****. ****This ****is ****kind ****of ****short****, ****sorry****. ****I ****wanted**** it**** to**** be**** longer ****but****...****this**** is ****how ****it**** turned ****out****. ****This**** chapter**** is**** from**** Huey****'****s**** point ****of ****view****. ****And**** the**** song**** is**** Thinking**** About ****You ****by ****Frank ****Ocean****. ****I**** don****'****t ****know**** if**** the**** song**** really**** fits**** in**** with**** this**** chapter**** but ****I**** like**** it****. ****I ****was ****listening**** to ****it ****while ****I**** wrote**** this ****and ****I ****wanted**** to ****include**** it****. ****Here**** you**** go****...**

**P****.****S****- ****Who**** downloaded**** Take ****Care****? *****Raises ****Hand***** :) ****I**** did****, ****like****, ****five**** minutes**** ago****. ****You**** should ****too****. ****Or**** buy ****it****. ****Whatever****. ****I****'****m**** just ****sayin****'. ****Go**** get ****it****. **

**Disclaimer****- ****I ****do ****not ****own ****The ****Boondocks**** or ****Thinking ****About ****You**** by ****Frank ****Ocean**

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><p>Huey tapped his fingers against the old, rickety, scratched up wooden desk he found at the salvation army as he stared at his computer screen. The laptop was open to Word with just a paragraph on the page. He'd been sitting in front of this damn computer for an hour and all he had to show for it was five sentences. Huey put his elbows on the desk and placed his head in his large hand, tugging at his hair a bit. And if he was honest with himself like he usually was, they weren't even good. Huey sat up and hit the backspace key until the page was devoid of any characters and the cursor blinked, waiting for him to type something, almost mockingly. Huey accepted the fact that there was no way his boss, Alexander Johnson, was going to get the piece he needed first thing in the morning. Not at the rate Huey was going.<p>

Huey stood from the desk leaving the laptop open. Lately, it had been getting hard to write, at least, one hundred words for his daily column in the paper. It was like his muse, whatever it was, had suddenly decided to leave him high and dry. Huey, like most writers, found the whole writer's block mess to be frustrating as hell. Plus, it got real old, real quick.

He walked over to the window and cracked open the blinds, peering out at the street below him. Despite the rapidly darkening sky, and the fact that it was a school night, a gaggle of teenage boys were congregated in front of the convenience store at the corner loudly talking over each other. The store's owner, an elderly man from Nigeria named Mr. Afeez who spoke with a heavy accent, tried to shoo the teens away with a broom, but they merely ignored him. It wasn't until the man said something that Huey couldn't quite make out that the small crowd dispersed.

Huey glanced towards his desk at the shrill sound of his cell phone ringing where it sat faced down next to the computer. Huey stared at the object, it's loud ringing filling the otherwise silent room. He really didn't want to answer it, didn't have the patience to deal with anyone and he just didn't want to be bothered. But then, Huey figured that it could either be his Aunt Cookie who called him about the littlest things, from where her reading glasses where (as if he would know) to asking if he would come over to fix this or that or Riley, who really only called whenever he needed or wanted something. With an irritated sigh, Huey walked over to his still ringing phone and grabbed it, answering it on the last ring without a glance towards the caller id.

_A__ tornado __flew__ around __my __room__ before __you __came_

_Excuse__ the __mess__ it__ made__, __it__ usually__ doesn't __rain_

_In__ Southern __California__, __much __like __Arizona_

_My__ eyes__ don't __shed__ tears__, __but__, __boy__, __they __bawl_

"What?" Huey's voice was harsh as he spoke.

''Is that how you usually answer the phone or is this a bad time?"

Huey stilled in his movements at the sound of Jazmine's voice. "Jaz", Huey paused, shaking his head to clear it of the haze that usually came with hearing her voice. "No, sorry. I-I thought it would be someone else."

"It's fine. I didn't think that you would pick up."

"Yeah, I was, uh, in the other room."

"Oh." Jazmine paused, smiling a bit. "It's nice to hear you sober."

Huey grimaced. He was embarrassed. If Riley ever found out about that, he'd never let Huey live it down, probably saying something like "That was a bitch move. Nigga, you gay as hell.'' "I'm sorry about that, Jaz."

"No, it's fine. I was glad you called. It was nice hearing from you for the first time in so long."

They both avoided bringing up Huey's admission of love. It wouldn't do anything but complicate already complicated matters.

_I__'__ve__ been__ thinkin__' __bout __you_

_Do__ you__ think__ about __me__ still__?_

_Do __you__? __Do __you__?_

"So what are you up to?"

Huey pulled his feet up onto the desk he sat at and leaned back in his chair, getting comfortable. "Nothing really. I was just doing some...writing."

"Writing?" Huey could plainly hear the smile in Jazmine's teasing voice. "Since when do you write?"

"Since I get paid to do so. I've got a column in the paper."

"What do you write about?"

"A lot of stuff. Whatever I feel like writing about most of the time."

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah. It pays the bills so I can't really complain. What about you?"

"What about me?"

"You're doing the dancing thing right?"

"I'm a ballet teacher actually." Huey could the pride in Jazmine's voice. It made him smile the tiniest bit. "You should see the kids Huey. They're great most of the time. Even you would like them on their good days."

Huey shook his head. Jazmine always did like kids while he tried to stay away from them. Being in the presence of a child for too long gave him a headache. "Yeah, I don't think so, Jaz."

_Or__ do __you __not __think __so __far __ahead_

_Cause__ I__'__ve __been__ thinkin__ bout__ forever_

"You still hate kids, huh?"

Huey rolled his eyes. "I don't hate kids. Stop exaggerating."

"Hmph." Huey could just picture Jazmine doing that thing where she pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. Huey knew that she was thinking of the time when, at a family reunion he'd brought Jazmine to, he'd told one of his 4-year-old cousins that the boogieman was real and liked to eat little boys that repeatedly asked their older cousins for candy they didn't have. Huey's little cousin had promptly burst into tears, running to his mother wondering why she told him that the boogieman wasn't real when Cousin Huey, who looked really smart, said that it was. Jazmine ignored Huey for the rest of that day. "You could've fooled me."

"Jaz, you only like those kids because they're yours for just a couple of hours and then you get to return them to their rightful owners."

"Owners?" Jazmine's voice was loud and indignant. "You make it sound like they're animals or something."

"That's what they act like half of the time. And you know I'm right.", Huey said.

Jazmine was quiet or a moment before she chuckled. "Okay, maybe you are right."

Huey nodded in agreement. "Thank you."

''Mhmm."

Huey noticed Jazmine's distracted tone. "What are you doing?"

"Watching the sun set. Are you near a window?"

"Yeah." Huey stood up and went back to the window, pulling back the black drape and cracking open the blind, like he'd done earlier. Huey glanced towards what was probably the west. He couldn't see much due to the tall buildings. Much of the sky was a dark purple with just a sliver of the sun still visible. "You probably have a better view than I do."

Jazmine murmured in agreement. "Probably. But the hill always did have the best view to watch the sunset. We always had a good time there."

"Yeah, we did. I haven't been there in a while."

Jazmine sighed. "Me neither."

_Yes__, __of__ course_

_I__ remember__, __how __could__ I __forget__?_

_How__ you__ feel__?_

_And__ though __you __were __my__ first __time_

_A__ new__ feel_

_It__ won't__ ever__ get __old__, __not__ in__ my __soul_

_Not __in__ my __spirit__, __keep__ it __alive_

_We'll__ go __down__ this__ road_

'_Til__ it __turns __from__ color __to __black __and __white_

The two didn't say much after that, thinking about the last time they had been at the hill. Jazmine had been screaming and crying and Huey had been trying to get Jazmine to listen to him, that he'd made a mistake and that he'd cut out his own damn heart and give it to her before ever daring to hurt Jazmine again. But Jazmine wasn't hearing it and Huey decided that he couldn't fight for Jazmine when she didn't want him to win. Huey regretted making that decision when he saw Jazmine with Caesar a few weeks later. Hell, he was still regretting making that decision.

Jazmine was the first one to recover. "Um, I should go. I've been sitting here in my car for the last thirty minutes. I should probably get home." Jazmine didn't mention that it was Caesar who was probably waiting for her and for that, Huey was thankful.

"Right. Be safe, aight?"

"I will. Have a nice night, Huey."

"You too.''

Huey kept the phone to his ear until he heard the dial tone. Sighing, he reluctantly pulled away the phone and hit the red button, ending the call. He tossed it on the desk and ran a hand through his hair. Huey could only think about how much he wanted Jazmine to come home to him.

_Or__ do __you __not __think __so __far __ahead__? _

'_Cause__ I __been__ thinkin'__ 'bout__ forever_

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><p><strong>I know it feels like it's taking Huey and Jazmine forever to get it together, but don't worry. It'll happen. Hopefully <strong>**you ****enjoyed**** that****. ****Drop ****me ****a**** review ****please****. :) ****Peace****. **


	6. The Best Advice I Ever Got

**Author's Note- Hey, everyone. I hope everyone had a good holiday. Thank you to those that reviewed last chapter. :) I really appreciate it. Uh...here's Jazmine and Huey getting some motherly advice. They need it, don't you think? **

**Oh yeah, I might be coming out with a Huey/Jazmine oneshot soon. This idea is really good (I think) and it's been buggin the hell out of me for a few weeks. I haven't written it yet, but keep an eye out for it.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own "The Boondocks"**

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><p>"Hey, Mom," Jazmine greeted Sarah as she walked into the small laundry room near the kitchen where she was doing laundry, giving her a kiss on the cheek.<p>

The older woman smiled at her daughter as she closed the lid of the washing machine. "Hey, honey. What's going on?"

Jazmine shrugged, the sleeve of her gray shirt sliding down her shoulder a bit as she did so. "Nothing. I just wanted to come and hang out with you for a bit before work."

Sarah then handed Jazmine a purple basket overflowing with clean colored clothes. "Great. You can help me fold then."

Jazmine rolled her emerald green eyes but took the basket without a word. It seemed like every time Jazmine stopped by for a visit, her parents were trying to put her to work. But Jazmine didn't complain; they probably missed having her in the house to do most of the chores.

"Where's dad?", Jazmine asked, walking into the tastefully decorated living room and dumping the basket over onto the dark brown sofa. Jazmine picked through the warm pile of clothing and, with her pointer finger and thumb, tossed any boxers or panties that she came across onto the loveseat. Jazmine would fold the clothes but she refused to touch her parents' undergarments. It just wasn't going to happen.

"He's at the office. Like always." Jazmine could hear the resignation in her mother's voice. Sarah was always trying to get Tom to work a little less and spend more time with her, maybe take some time off and they could go on a vacation, somewhere warm and sunny without that damn blackberry of his. But Tom never listened. Jazmine looked down at the sweatshirt she had just got done folding. She wondered if men would ever learn to listen to their women.

"So how are the wedding plans going?" Jazmine inwardly slumped. Wedding plans were the last thing she wanted to talk about. Jazmine hadn't gotten too involved with the planning of her and Caesar's wedding. At least, not emotionally. It was hard to get excited about getting married to him when things felt so...wrong and her feelings were so unclear. Jazmine thought back to her last conversation with Huey two days earlier. It had been a friendly one, filled with teasing and laughter, with just one moment of awkwardness that was quickly gotten over, but Jazmine couldn't ignore the fact that when she heard Huey's voice it sent the metaphorical butterflies into a frenzy and turned her heart into a congo drum and made her feel the tiniest bit lightheaded. Jazmine also couldn't ignore the fact that Caesar had never had that effect on her.

But, of course, Jazmine wouldn't tell her mother that.

"They're going well, I suppose. There isn't much else to do."

"But what about a dress? You still need one. You can have your grandmother's dress. It's upstairs.", Sarah said, her blue eyes filling with hope. Jazmine had only seen the dress in her mother and father's wedding pictures. It was a white, strapless dress with beading on the bodice and a five foot train. It was a simple but beautiful and elegant dress that any bride would want to wear on their way down the aisle.

But Jazmine still shrugged in an uncommitted way. "Maybe," she said, adding a light green towel to the pile of already folded clothes. "We'll see."

Sarah smiled as the two of them fell into a comfortable silence. Jazmine folded two shirts, a pair of jeans, and another sweatshirt before she broke it.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"How did you know that you wanted marry dad?"

Sarah paused, tilting her head to the left, wondering why Jazmine would ask such a thing. And then she remembered how she herself was before getting married- a nervous wreck. Her baby was nervous and second guessing herself. Smiling knowingly, she replied, "Well, it took me a while to figure it out. My roommate had the wonderful idea of setting us up and, at first, I was totally against it."

By this time Jazmine had pushed the clothing away from her lap and was listening intently with interest. "Why?"

"I was more interested in the kind of boys that had tattoos, and big muscles and wore leather jackets. And that is not your father."

Jazmine smiled along with her mother. "What changed?"

Sarah rolled her eyes while smiling fondly. The clothes that hadn't been folded sat in the basket at her feet forgotten. "Your father was very persistent. He wouldn't stop badgering me about a date until I said yes. So I did. And I was so prepared to have a bad time, but we ended up having a great night."

"And then you guys started dating?"

"Yeah." Jazmine noticed Sarah glance down at her ring, still smiling. Jazmine glanced down at her too large, too glamorous diamond ring. It suddenly felt like it was cutting off her finger's circulation. She stuck her left hand under her thigh to quell the urge to take it off. "We were together for almost a year when Tom asked me if I had ever thought of having kids. I hadn't before he asked but it was then that I realized I wanted to have his babies and it was him that I wanted to wake up next to every morning. And I was okay with that."

Jazmine nodded, but didn't say anything. She'd had that same realization once. And she hadn't been with Caesar when it happened. Jazmine gave her mother the fake smile she'd been handing out to a lot of people lately; it was quickly becoming an accessory she never went without.

"That's really nice, Mom." Jazmine picked up another towel and began to fold it. She only did it so that she could focus on something other than the frown that had suddenly popped up onto Sarah's face at the sight of that fake smile.

Sarah looked at Jazmine as she avoided her gaze, eyes stuck on the towel in her lap. Sarah rose from her seat and moved over next to Jazmine. "Honey, what's wrong?"

Jazmine shook her head. "It's nothing." She didn't have to look at her mother's face to know that she didn't believe a word of it.

"Doesn't seem like nothing." It wasn't until Sarah placed her left hand over Jazmine's right one that she looked into her mother's eyes. It made Jazmine remember the time when she had asked Sarah why her eyes were green when her's were blue and her father's were brown. It wasn't until Sarah explained to Jazmine about recessive and dominant traits that Jazmine stopped wishing for her eyes to turn blue overnight. "What's wrong? Is it the wedding? Are you nervous? Stressed?"

The concern on her mother's face almost made Jazmine tell her everything: the stuff with Caesar, the stuff with Huey, how she was dreading the wedding with each passing day. It almost did.

"Yeah, I am a little nervous, I guess."

Sarah smiled knowingly. "Oh, baby, it's okay. That's perfectly normal. Don't worry so much, sweetie."

Jazmine gave her mother a slightly more genuine smile and squeezed her hand even though she really felt like ripping out her hair and screaming. "I'll try not to."

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><p>"Hey, Aunt Cookie."<p>

The older woman turned away from the sink with a plate in her hand and smiled when she saw Huey standing in the kitchen doorway, pulling down the hood of his maroon hoodie holding a brown paper bag in one hand and Aunt Cookie's mail in the other. She quickly shut off the faucet and dropped the half clean plate back into the lukewarm dishwater. She quickly wiped her wet hands dry using the old pink apron tied around her waist and walked over to Huey.

"Hey, baby!" Aunt Cookie reached up and planted a kiss on Huey's cheek. She made sure to wipe away the red lipstick she left before he had a chance to complain about it. Glancing down at Huey's hands she asked, "What's this?"

Huey handed her Aunt Cookie the brown paper bag and placed the mail on the kitchen counter. "It's your blood pressure medication." Huey gave his aunt a chastising look. "That you have to take. Every day."

But Aunt Cookie waved off her nephew, taking a seat at the kitchen table. "Oh, chile, hush. Ain't nothin' wrong with my blood pressure. That doctor Harrington don't know what he talkin' about."

Huey shook his head. His aunt was just like his grandfather when it came to their health; they liked to deny that anything was wrong until something serious happened. Grandad didn't get serious about his own health until he ended up in the hospital because of a heart attack. Huey wasn't going to let it happen to his aunt, not if he could help it. "Right. Just make sure you take it. Please."

"Alright, alright, alright," Aunt Cookie said exasperatedly. Quickly changing the subject she asked, "Where's that nappy headed brother of yours? You know he told me he would go to church with me last month."

Huey shrugged. It had been a few days since he last saw Riley; who knew what he was up to. "I don't know Aunt Cookie. But look, if you really want me to, I'll go." Huey raised a finger. "Just once, though."

Aunt Cookie smiled triumphantly. Huey would take her to church when the weather or the buses weren't being cooperative but, try as she might, she could never convince him to sit through a service with her. He just didn't do churches and religion. The last time he entered a church had been for his grandfather's funeral and the time before that it had been for his mother's funeral. "Good. You should come with me. You might find you a lil' girlfriend."

"Auntie...", Huey rolled his eyes skyward, groaning as he did so. Aunt Cookie was forever trying to hook him up with someone, the pastor's daughter at her church, the pretty cashier at the supermarket, her bingo buddies' granddaughters. It was getting old.

But Aunt Cookie just ignored him. The way she saw it, Huey needed a girlfriend. Someone to make him smile, since he couldn't seem to do it on his own. Plus, she wanted some great nieces and nephews. "What happened to that lil' thing you brought to the cookout that one summer? The one we had just before yo' grandaddy died? Wasaname...uh, Janine, Janet. Huey, you know! The one with that strange hair coloring?"

Huey sighed, shaking his head. Why was Aunt Cookie bringing her up? "You mean Jazmine?''

Aunt Cookie snapped her fingers as if she'd come up with the answer herself. "Yeah, Jazmine. Now that girl, mmh. I liked that girl Huey. She was so nice and polite. And pretty too! Oh, that girl was gorgeous. Nothing like the girls yo' triflin', shiftless brother brings around. Whatever happened to her Huey?"

Right. Huey hadn't told his aunt that he and Jazmine broke up. And that was mainly because he didn't want to see the look on her face telling him that he'd messed up a good thing. "We broke up, Aunt Cookie. A while ago."

Aunt Cookie winced sympathetically. Huey and that Jazmine girl looked so good together. "Aw, baby, why?"

"I messed up, Aunt Cookie."

"You? Mess up? That don't even sound like you."

Huey shrugged. It wasn't him but he let a little bit of alcohol and a handsy girl change that. Huey traced a finger around the border of the blue place mat in front of him. "I know. She's getting married soon."

Aunt Cookie raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Married? To who?"

"Remember Caesar?" Huey said the familiar name of his former best friend as though it left a bad taste in his mouth.

Aunt Cookie looked thoughtful as she tried to place a face to the name. "That mop-headed boy you useta bring around here with the whatchamacallits? Dreads?"

"Yeah. Him." Huey still couldn't figure out how the hell that had happened. There had been times where Huey wondered if Caesar had had feelings for Jazmine while they were together or if it was something that had just happened. Considering how quickly Caesar took advantage of Huey and Jazmine's not being together, Huey thought it was the former.

"So...what you gon' do about it?"

Huey looked up and into his Aunt Cookie's brown eyes. "What do you mean?"

Aunt Cookie rolled her eyes. Her nephew was smart but there were times where he could be a little dense. He was a male after all. "Well any fool can see that you still in love with the girl."

Huey's eyebrow quirked sarcastically. Huey hadn't been in denial about the fact that he was in love with Jazmine. He'd known that, and accepted it, a while ago. What he didn't know is that he'd been so damn obvious about it. Which probably wasn't even the case; Aunt Cookie couldn't be fooled. She knew Huey. Whereas he was an unfinished puzzle with the pieces missing to others, Aunt Cookie already had him put together. It kind of irked him, the fact that his aunt just knew. "Oh, really?"

Aunt Cookie nodded the affirmative. "Yeah. I can just look into yo' eyes and see it."

Huey didn't say anything. He didn't need to.

"So, like I said, what you gon' do?"

Huey sat back in the wooden chair Aunt Cookie had since he was a kid. For the first time in a long time, Huey was at a loss. He had no clue what his next move should be, because this whole thing wasn't just about him. It was about him and Jazmine and, to a certain extent, Caesar. Yeah, they did reconnect recently, and Huey did, drunkenly, admit that he still loved her, but Jazmine gave him no signs of even entertaining the thought of dropping the zero and getting with the hero. Who knew if Jazmine felt the same way for him- she did accept Caesar's wedding proposal. She was ready to spend the rest of her life with that nigga, for better or worse, in sickness and in health. That had to mean something. "I don't know Aunt Cookie."

Aunt Cookie slowly stood from her chair and walked over to the refrigerator, opening it. She reached for a can of beer before she spoke again. "Well, baby, you better figure it out. Quick, fast and in a hurry." She pulled back the tab and took a small sip. She then pointed her french manicured index finger at Huey, a warning in her voice. "And don't you wait 'til that girl is in her white dress at the alter and the reverend is axin' who objects. If you love that girl like I know you do, you'll tell her before then. Take advantage of the time ya got now, honey. You'll regret it if ya don't."

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><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed it. CindyRiley and some Caesar next chapter. Maybe. Drop me a review please. :) Peace.**


	7. Laundromats, Butterflies, & Short Texts

**Here's another chapter! Enjoy!**

**Author's Note- I do not own The Boondocks.**

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><p>Riley slipped his hand into the pocket of his tan cargo pants and discreetly pulled out his phone to glance at the time. An hour until he could leave this damn laundromat, with it's loud machines and annoying college kids that have never had the displeasure of washing their own clothes because their mothers did it for them, and go home and have some fucking chill time. No stressing about stupid shit, and by that, Riley really meant no stressing about Cindy and her wack ass boyfriend. No, not boyfriend, but Jamal was getting there. Riley huffed as he folded someone's ugly green t-shirt. As much as he didn't want to, he could clearly see Cindy and Jamal as a couple in his mind's eye, doing couple-y shit like holding hands and, Riley took a deep breath to ward off what felt like slight nausea, kissing. He shook his head, the ends of his braids also shaking, to erase the image from the forefront of his brain. His efforts failed epically.<p>

"Uh, excuse me? Dude, I need help." Riley glanced up from the shirt he'd been unconsciously folding over and over for the last couple of minutes towards the white boy behind the counter. He looked like a hobo with his holey too-tight skinny jeans, bleach spotted Nike hoody and run down vans. Riley wasn't sure if this was all by mistake or if homeboy thought he was making a fashion statement, not that it really mattered; he looked stupid as hell either way.

Sucking his teeth and rolling his eyes, Riley asked, "Wassup?"

The guy reached a hand up to scratch his head, looking around at the floor, the ceiling, the left and the right. Riley would have laughed in dude's face if he wasn't so annoyed; he looked so fucking lost and pitiful, like he lost his weed and couldn't find it. "Uh, ya know that machine over there?" He pointed to one of the washers, Riley leaning his torso over the counter to see, "Yeah, it's, like, not working. At all."

Riley rolled his eyes, and moved back behind the counter, a scowl much like his older brother's covering his facade tiredly said, "It ain't workin' 'cause it's broke. Which you woulda known had you used yo' readin' skills. It's a sign right on da door, son."

"Ohhh." The guy, his eyes alight with realization as if he had never thought to read the sign that was written in bold and underlined with capital letters. He smiled happily, glad to know that it wasn't his fault the washing machine wasn't in order. "Thanks, man."

Riley merely stared back, unfriendly scowl still in place. He went back to his work when the guy walked away. Some people were just too dumb for their own good.

It wasn't until Riley had moved on to wiping down the detergent splattered washing machines about fifteen minutes later that he was bothered again. The disturbance came in the form of a soft tapping on his shoulder. Riley turned quickly; his first instinct to snap on whoever was bothering him was instantly shut down once realized exactly who it was. "Sherise?"

She smiled a pretty Colgate smile that lit up her smooth, butterscotch toned face. They'd talked a few times on the phone, but the last time Riley saw her she was walking out of his door with her heels in hand, long dark hair pulled into a messy bun, adjusting her formfitting strapless dress. Riley set aside the rag and turned to Sherise. His eyes roamed over her body appreciatively. Even with her sweatpants, hair in a loose ponytail and make-up free face, she looked good. As Riley's eyes lingered on her ample bottom, then dragged past her small waist and up to her equally ample chest, he wondered how in the world she was still single. Sherise was just too damn fine to be walking around unattached. The thought of getting with Sherise was quickly erased when he thought of long blond hair, icy blue eyes, and legs that went on for miles. Right, Cindy. No matter how much he wanted to sometimes, Riley couldn't go forgetting about his girl. Even though she wasn't technically his. And she went out with dumb niggas like Jamal. Riley stopped himself. He was getting tight just thinking about it. "Hey! I didn't know you worked here."

Riley shrugged, a little embarrassed about Sherise catching him at his wack ass job for some strange reason, grabbing the rag and stuffing it halfway into his back pocket. "Yeah, you know. So...wassup?", Riley asked, eager to change the subject.

"Nothing really. I'm doing laundry." Sherise glanced down at the two pink bags at her feet and then back up at Riley, a sheepish grin on her face. "Which I'm sure you already knew."

Riley chuckled as the two lapsed into a slightly awkward silence. With the pleasantries out of the way, they didn't really know what to say to one another. Riley noted that it hadn't been this awkward when they first met. With music loud in their ears, hands holding liquor filled cups, and dressed to impress, the conversation had been flowing well, non existent of the heavy, I-don't-know-what-to-say pauses that usually happened when first meeting a person. They talked and laughed about any and everything. It was the good chemistry they had that led to Riley quietly leading Sherise as she giggled into his room as Hiro stood at the end of the hallway near his own room making inappropriate hand gestures that Riley answered with the lifting of his middle finger. Riley ran his left hand lightly over his braids and gestured down towards Sherise's bags, eager to fill the silence. "Uh, you need some help wit' dat?"

Sherise shook her head. Her big earrings clanked against the side of her cheeks lightly as she did so. "I think I can handle it."

"Aight. Holla if you need something."

Sherise picked up her bags and went to find a washing machine that wasn't being used when she suddenly stopped. "Hey, Riley?"

"Yeah?"

Sherise smiled again, with a tinge of mischievety that made Riley question whatever she was thinking. He briefly wondered if she was anything like that Luna killer kung fu bitch Grandad brought around that one time. Sherise did kind of resembled her if he squinted. "What time do you get out of here?"

A smirk spread across Riley's handsome face. Oh, yes. Sherise did wanted- no, needed sounded better- the dick. Riley gave it to her so good, she was in love with the dick. Riley bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from bursting into laughter. "In a minute. Why?"

"Well," Sherise began, looking down as though she were embarrassed, a slight blush forming on her cheeks. She was a little shy; Riley thought that it was kind of cute. "Maybe we can...you know, hang out for a little bit."

Riley quickly weighed the pros and cons in his head. Con: his go home and be the lazy nigga he naturally was plan would have to be put off. Pro: his go home and be the lazy nigga he naturally was plan would have to be put off. And there would be no thoughts of Cindy crossing his mind- a plus. "Yeah. Dat sounds good."

Sherise smiled brightly. Damn, she was fine as hell. "Great."

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><p>"Boom! What now?"<p>

"No, no, no! You can't do that!"

Cindy grinned while Jamal emphatically disagreed with her throwing down three draw four UNO cards onto the gray carpet where they sat cross-legged and shoeless with open half empty cartons of Chinese takeout situated on the coffee table next to them. They had been sitting there playing UNO for at least an hour with Cindy winning three games and Jamal winning only one. There had been numerous debates on the rules, what was allowed and what wasn't, and an air of competitiveness. Cindy wanted to win because losing wasn't an option, never mind the fact that it was just an UNO game, and she was pretty sure Jamal wanted to win so that he wouldn't have to say that he'd been beaten by a girl. "Whatchu mean? Yes, I can!"

Jamal shook his head vehemently, but was smiling, lighting up his dark chocolate hued skin. Cindy had never seen anything sexier. "No, you can't. You can't be breakin' the rules, Cindy."

"Please, haven't you heard that rules were made to be broken?" Jamal went to open his mouth, to refute what she just said, but Cindy quickly cut him off. "Ah, ah, ah. Say nothing. Just pick up yo' twelve cards, boo."

Jamal laughed loudly. "Nah, I can't be playin' UNO wit' you. You's a cheater." Jamal set down his hand and moved next to Cindy, just close enough so that her shoulder touch his. Cindy dismissed the way her shoulder tingled at his touch as nothing. She was too cool to get excited over touching shoulders like she was a thirteen year old on her first date.

Cindy gathered the cards and shuffled them to give her hands something to do. She was sure that she'd grab Jamal and kiss him, which wasn't like her. She liked for the guy to make the first move. Cindy was the chasee, not the chaser. Things were just easier that way. "Fine. Be that way." Cindy reached for the UNO card box, her long blond hair falling forward. It wasn't until she felt Jamal touch the end of a lock of hair that she froze. Cindy glanced at him and he smiled sheepishly, pulling back his hand. Looking down between them, Cindy could see how close they had gotten. She wondered how that had happened without her noticing.

"I like you," Jamal said softly. Cindy smiled a little. She was feeling Jamal, too. A lot. Which was a strange feeling for her- Cindy didn't fall too easily for guys; she didn't need a man. They just weren't on her radar. That and the fact that most of them couldn't handle her 'hard' attitude. Everybody but Riley, of course.

"Yeah, I like you, too." Cindy noticed Jamal glance down at her lips and back up to her eyes. He was asking for permission, she knew, which she granted by leaning forward just the smallest bit. Reaching a hand up to her cheek, Jamal leaned down and placed a kiss on Cindy's lips. As far as first kisses went, it was a good one- nice, soft, and slow, but Cindy couldn't help but feel a little disheartened at the lack of fireworks. She remembered her first kiss with Riley. They were freshman at some party they shouldn't have even been at considering the sheer amount of drug and alcohol present when Riley suddenly, and jealously thanks to the senior that Cindy had been dancing with who didn't seem to think that the general 'hands off' rule applied to him, grabbed her and kissed her. Now, Cindy had never been one for fairy tales, romance, and the whole 'fireworks when you kiss' thing, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't feel them in that first kiss with Riley and every kiss after that. And since she and Riley broke up, she'd been trying to find those sparks again. And it was disappointing when it didn't happen, and the disappointment she felt made her question why she was even looking for the fireworks when she knew only one person could make her feel them.

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><p>Huey leaned back on the lawn chair he had sitting on the small terrace of his apartment as he stared up at the barely visible stars due to the bright lights of the city. He pulled up the hood of his hoodie. It was April, so it still got cold at night, but he didn't go back in. He welcomed the slight bitterness of the air. It made him feel a little more clearheaded and alert. He had his phone resting on his right thigh, it's screen black. Huey had been thinking about the talk he had with Aunt Cookie all day. She was right, of course, about everything she said, that much Huey was sure of, but turning her words into a plan and turning that plan into action was easier said than done.<p>

Huey sighed. He didn't appreciate how this whole unrequited love thing had him so out of sorts.

Picking up his phone, he glanced at the time. It was a little past midnight. Huey wondered if he should do what he was thinking of and after a moment decided to before he talked himself out of it. He quickly typed out the short text message and pressed send. Huey placed the phone face down on his thigh, and leaned back in his chair, eyes still glued to the dark, star spotted sky and waited for it to buzz with a reponse.

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><p>Jazmine stared up at the still ceiling fan, wishing that it was moving since she was so hot. Jazmine stuck a bare foot out from under the covers over her and breathed a small sigh of relief. The cool air in the bedroom hitting her leg, made her feel a bit more comfortable. She glanced at the heavy arm wrapped around her waist. If she could get Caesar's arm off of her, she might've been able to get some sleep. It weighed her down, making her feel stifled and uncomfortable. Jazmine shifted a bit, trying to get Caesar's arm off of her, but he only held on tighter. It was as if Caesar was afraid she'd try and make a run for it while he was asleep, something that Jazmine knew she should have done ages ago, but never got the courage to do. She briefly wondered if she would ever find the courage to do so.<p>

Jazmine suddenly glanced at her phone as it buzzed wildly on the bedside table. After quickly tossing a glance at Ceasar, she snatched it off of the charger. She didn't need the noise waking up Caear; he was a light sleeper.

Upon seeing the sender, Jazmine's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. What did Huey want at twelve o' clock at night? Jazmine sighed. She hoped he wasn't drunk texting her or something. She didn't need Huey saying something that would confuse her more than she already was.

With another glance towards Caesar, Jazmine lifted the covers off of her body slowly. It wasn't until she got a foot on the cold wooden floor that Ceasar stirred.

"Jaz?"

Jazmine winced. Damn, she was close. She inwardly cursed Caesar for being such a light sleeper. Jazmine turned to face Caesar, "Yeah?"

Caesar sat up, squinting tiredly, his hand rubbing his bare chest to ward off the cold he felt. "Where you goin'?"

Jazmine tried hard not to stutter or stumble or pause. She really did. "I have to pee."

But Ceasar didn't say anything. He just fell back onto the bed, with a faint 'come back' that Jazmine wasn't even sure she really heard and in moments was back to emitting a light snore.

Jazmine quietly made her way to the bathroom just off of the bedroom, closing the door behind her. She walked over to the toilet and closed the lid, taking seat. Before opening the text message, Jazmine took a breath to brace herself. She knew that he would need to.

" 'I need to see you' '', Jazmine whispered, reading the message out loud to herself. What? Since when did Huey need to see her? And why? Jazmine brought a pale pink painted fingernail to her mouth and proceeded to ruin her manicure while staring at herself in the bathroom mirror across from her as if it would give her all of the answers she needed to all of the questions she had. Talking on the phone was one thing, but Jazmine already knew that seeing Huey, in the flesh, would open a can of worms she'd rather not even deal with. It would make handling her feelings that much harder. Around Huey, Jazmine would have to act like he didn't affect her, that she didn't miss him, that she just wanted to be his friend, that she was completely in love with someone that wasn't him. Jazmine was so tired of acting. Hell, if she wanted to act, she'd have been half way to Hollywood by now. But, then again...Jazmine did want to see Huey. She'd missed him being around. He had been her best friend. Granted, it was her fault that they didn't talk, Jazmine had completely cut Huey off after their disastrous break-up, but she had always kept him in the back of her mind. He was still there.

Jazmine pulled her nibbled to the quick thumb out of her mouth. With a sigh, she picked up her cell phone and, without a moments hesitation, typed out a response. She pressed send and turned it off. She knew that he wouldn't reply. Huey wouldn't have to. There would be nothing to say.

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><p>Huey jumped at his buzzing cell phone, jarring him out of his daze. Huey rolled his eyes anxiously. Jazmine had probably been sitting for ten minutes before she decided to reply. Huey had been bouncing a leg up and down impatiently the entire time. He quickly grabbed for the still buzzing object and opened the text message from Jazmine. " 'Soon' ", Huey said out loud to himself. He nodded to himself. They way he saw it 'soon' was better than 'no' or 'never'. That was fine, he could accept and respect that. He didn't really have a choice but to do anything other than that.<p>

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><p><strong>That's all folks. I hope you enjoyed. This story will be picking up soon, just so you know. Well, drop me a review, please. Peace. :)<strong>


	8. Pinch Me So I Know It's Real

**Author's Note- Merry Christmas! Yeah, I know I'm late as hell with this, but I won't give you any lame ass excuses. Sorry. But thank you for the reviews and alerts. Think of this chapter as your Christmas present from me to you, okay? Okay.**

**Disclaimer- Ya'll already know. Need I say it again?**

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><p>If anyone were to ask Jazmine about her first love, she'd talk to them about her dancing. Ballet, if she wanted to be specific about it. Ballet was something that she held dear to her heart. It was what she turned to when she needed to clear her mind of more unappealing thoughts, and, with her feet hitting the polished wooden floor beneath her and her body moving along with the music that resonated in her ears due to the earbuds in them, she could find a little bit of peace. And it was the promise of peace that brought Jazmine to the dance studio well before she had to be there seeing as it was about eleven in the morning on Saturday and she didn't have any classes until about one in the afternoon.<p>

Tracy, the receptionist, had regarded Jazmine with a look of confusion when she saw her and questioned why she was there so early. Jazmine briefly mentioned wanted to work on some new choreography that she thought the kids might enjoy before hurriedly walking away, hoping that Tracy wouldn't come up with more questions to ask that Jazmine really didn't feel like answering.

Things hadn't been too great for Jazmine as of late. Life had been a chaotic mess that she couldn't seem to work out and the stress of it all made her want to lock herself in a closet away from the rest of the world and wait for this phase, if she could even call it that, of her life to pass. She felt so boxed in and constricted and she blamed it on her relationship with Caesar. Every time she was around Caesar for more than a few minutes a heavy weight settled around her and she felt like she was suffocating, which was one of the reasons she had left the house so early that morning. Jazmine supposed that it was partly her fault, her feeling that way. She could just leave Ceasar, break off their engagement and go her own way. And it sounded good and simple in theory, but it was surprisingly difficult. Maybe two months prior, after Caesar had a particularly nasty episode that left her bruised and in pain for a couple of days, Jazmine had almost done it. She had waited until he was asleep and slid from under his heavy arm and proceeded to quietly pack her things (just a couple of things, she'd come back for the rest) using her cell phone as a light. Jazmine had made it to the door of the bedroom when her cell phone clattered to the floor, loudly, so loud that it sounded like a gunshot to Jazmine, when Caesar sat up in bed, his dreadlocked head in his hands. Jazmine had frozen like a deer in headlights and instantly regretted attempting such a feat at two in the morning with Caesar asleep just a few feet away from her. She blamed that on too many viewings of What's Love Got To Do With It and Enough. She had briefly considered making a run for it but then Caesar had promptly turned on the teary, regretful, "Baby, I'm sorry. I love you. It won't happen again" act and she slowly felt her resolve fading away. Her thoughts of "I'm tired of this. I deserve better. I'm not happy" had turned to "Maybe if I put some effort into us, things will be better" and "I loved him at one point, maybe I can again" and with that Jazmine's first and last getaway attempt had been aborted.

Jazmine paused in her movements, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She snatched her earbuds out of her ears and stared at her reflection in the mirrored wall in front of her. Jazmine noticed that she was different. Not different in her outward appearance, but internally, she had changed. She had a hard time deciding if it was for better or worse.

At the shrill ringing of her cell phone, Jazmine jumped. She glanced over at the offending object sitting on top of the duffel bag she had tossed to the side as soon as she had entered the room. Sighing, mourning the loss of her peace and quiet, Jazmine walked over to her phone and picked it up. Her emerald green eyes rolled heavenward at the name on the caller id, becoming irritated almost instantaneously. It figured that it would be him.

Jazmine took a deep breath and put on a falsely cheery voice. It wasn't very hard. The action was almost natural. "Hello?"

"Hey, babe. Where were did you go this morning? I woke up and you were gone."

"Uh, I had some errands to run," Jazmine quickly said.

Jazmine heard him pause, probably doubting the truth to her words. Jazmine kept quiet; it was a flimsy lie, not one of her best if she were honest with herself. But it was better than telling Caesar why she really left him to wake up alone: she simply didn't want to be bothered. She didn't want to hear any more promises and she did not need that ridiculous act Caesar liked to put on where he liked to trick himself- and try to trick her- into believing that life was good when, at least Jazmine felt, it was complete shit.

"Errands? What kind of errands?" Jazmine noted that while Caesar sounded nonchalant there was an edgy undercurrent to his tone. The average person wouldn't notice it, but Jazmine did. She always noticed it.

"Yeah, I had to do some things for my mother. She's sick and Dad is on some business trip."

"Right...well, tell me next time. I didn't know where you went, I was worried."

Jazmine rolled her eyes, head shaking as she did so. Worried? That was a laugh. "I will."

"Good. Hey, I called because I need a favor."

Jazmine cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah. Remember Jamison?"

Jazmine furrowed her brow, trying to place a face to the slightly familiar name. And then she remembered the tall, handsome, broad shouldered blonde that flirted with her endlessly at the Christmas party. It was all good-natured fun, of course, he even flirted with some of the older women there, taking obvious pleasure in making them blush and giggle and swoon, but it had encited a jealousy within Caesar that Jazmine didn't even know existed beforehand. "Jamison? The guy from the Christmas party?"

"Right. Look, he and his girlfriend want to go out to dinner tonight, like a double date or whatever." Caesar's voice was a bit rough and irritable; he obviously remembered that night.

"So..."

"So...I need you to do this for me."

Jazmine sighed heavily and lifted a hand to her temple, hoping to fight off what she knew was an impending headache. Jazmine already knew that when she got out of work, she wouldn't want to go anywhere but home, but here Caesar was asking her to go out to dinner with people she barely knew and be sociable, and pleasant, and look like the happy fiance. "Caeser, can't we do it another time?"

"Aw, come on, J. Look, it's just for a couple of hours and-"

Jazmine quickly interjected, knowing it would piss Caesar off but needing to express how displeased she was with the idea. "Caesar, I just don't want to, okay?"

Caesar's temper did not disappoint. It flipped on like a light switch. "Damn it, J! I'm askin' you to do this one little thing and you kickin' up a big ass fuss about it! I don't ask for much, do I? I don't see what the fuckin' problem is."

Jazmine flinched at Caesar's colorful language. She felt her own anger flare within her, wanting to bring up the fact that Caesar was always asking her for something- her forgiveness most of the time- but she bit her tongue, deciding not to say anything. Jazmine rolled her eyes, listening to Caesar go on angrily about how since Jazmine was his fiance she should want to do these types of little things for him and why was it such a problem? Did she have something else better to do? Jazmine shook her head. She would have to approach this the way she did with all of her other arguments with Caesar. "Okay, Caesar." Jazmine said, immediately hating how meek her voice sounded to her ears.

"What?"

"I'll go. What time should I be at home?"

Her sudden agreeance seemed to make Caesar brighten considerably. Jazmine briefly wondered, like she had so many other times before, if he had an undiagnosed bipolar condition. "Reservations are for seven."

"I'll be home at five, five-thirty at the latest."

"Great. I'll see you then."

Jazmine closed her eyes, exhaling deeply. He had completely ruined the little bit of peace that she had. "Yeah, see you then."

"Hey, J?"

Jazmine was too annoyed to hold try and hide it from her voice. "What?"

"Thanks. I really appreciate it."

Jazmine paused at Caesar's voice. He sounded sincere, but Jazmine couldn't really tell. She hadn't heard him sound so sincere in a long time. "I'll see you later." Jazmine snatched her phone from her ear and ended the call before Caesar could say anything else. She tossed it near her duffel bag and tilted her head back against the wall behind her. She glanced at her bag after a moment of staring at the ceiling. She wondered if she had any Tylenol, because after that, she sure as hell needed it.

* * *

><p>"I bet you can't wait to get married. It must be so exciting!"<p>

Jazmine gave Lauren, Jamison's girlfriend, a wan smile. When Jazmine had walked into the house a quarter after five, she walked into the room she shared with Caesar only to see that he'd had a dress layed out for her. It was a dark blue strapless dress that Caesar had bought for her and she never wore on account of hating the color. She'd only worn the damn thing because Caesar had insisted and she didn't want to start any uneccessary arguments. Jazmine bit back a sigh. For the past thirty minutes she'd had to endure mindless talk with Lauren about everything from the weather to shoes, which she admittedly enjoyed, to her impending wedding while the men talked about the NBA lockout and football. Jazmine glanced over at Caesar, starting when she noticed that he was already watching her. Jazmine looked away quickly, turning back to Lauren and their conversation. No matter how she felt about the night, Jazmine didn't want to be rude; she simply didn't have it in her. "Yeah, I can't wait."

The multiple conversations at the table ceased when the waitress finally came back with their food, and with the distraction, Jazmine decided to rise from the table. "Excuse me, I have to use the restroom." Jazmine walked away quickly before anyone (Caesar) could respond, relief flooding her entire being with the more space put between herself and her companions at the table. Jazmine reached the ladies' room and shoved the door open, entering the bright, clean, pleasant smelling bathroom. Emerald eyes quickly scanned under the stalls and Jazmine sighed, taking comfort in the fact that she was finally alone. She walked over to one of the sinks and glanced at her reflection in the mirror over it, pulling a face at what she saw. Quirking her lips to the left, Jazmine lifted a hand to smooth her reddish-orange hair back into the ponytail at the nape of her neck. After another moment of staring at her reflection and growing increasingly displeased with what she saw (she didn't like her hair, don't even get her started on the dress, and her heels were killing her, why had she worn them?) Jazmine turned away, digging into her clutch for something to calm her nerves. Finding a mint, she unwrapped it and popped it into her mouth. Jazmine walked to the door and before she pushed it open, she took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. It was only after preping herself for maybe another hour of this that she exited the bathroom.

* * *

><p>"Excuse me," Huey said to a cornrow wearing waiter that he'd almost bumped into on his way to the mens' room. Huey rolled his eyes. He was starting to regret taking Stacy up on her offer to try out this new restaurant, because one, Huey liked around-the-way, everybody-knows-everybody, types of restaurants, not this ridiculous and uptight place (and by 'uptight' he meant mostly white establishment where he kept receiving looks of both curiosity and fear) with it's non-vegan friendly menu.<p>

Huey ran a hand through his afro, tyring to will away his irritation. If someone else in here gave him another funny look, he'd be leaving, with or without Stacy's ass.

"Shit!" Huey was almost to his destination when someone, a petite woman, barreled into his chest, obviously not looking where they were going. Huey instinctively grabbed for the woman before she could fall, his grasp tight around her arm. Refraining from rolling his eyes, it was a mistake after all and she was already apologizing profusely, Huey bent down to pick up the clutch that had fell from her grasp. "Don't worry abou-"

Huey froze mid-sentence when he saw who it was that had bumped into him. His face was an expression of shock, his body unable to move because of it. She looked different. Still as beautiful as she wanted to be, there wasn't a doubt in his mind about that, but there was something unfamiliar about her now. Huey thought that that might be a result of not having seen her in about two years, but then he stopped caring altogether because she was here, right here, right in fucking front of him and, at the moment, that was all that mattered.

"Jazmine."

* * *

><p><strong>I know. I know. I'm dirty as hell for stopping right there, but I had to! This is my first real cliff-hanger! So, don't be that mad at me, okay? Cool beans. You know the drill: drop me a review *bats eyelashes* please. I'll try not to make you guys wait as long as you did for this chapter. That was...unacceptable, I know. Expect an update next weekend, maybe. And have a good holiday! <strong>


	9. Who He Is Versus Who You Want Him To Be

_****_**Author's note- Hello all. I know I said I'd update last weekend but I got busy and I'm warning you guys right now that it'll only get worse. A sistah's got two midterms to study for (one is physics... -_- Nuff said.) and I've got the Algebra 2/Trig Regents exam (-_- again) and I'm sure that I've got two projects coming up. Junior year ain't no joke. So...yeah, it'll be tough stuff for me to squeeze in some time to sit down & knock out a chapter, but I'm not gonna leave ya'll hanging. Anyways, enough about me. I want to say thank you for all of the reviews and alerts and favorites. I really appreciate it. You guys are the best :)**

**P.S-The italics are a flashback**

**Disclaimer- Ya'll already know. **

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><p><em>"I cannot fucking believe you! We have a stupid, insignificant fight and you go out and do that! And to make it worse, I don't hear it from you I hear it from your best friend- don't touch me, Huey!"<em>

_Huey recoilled from his girlfriend- ex-girlfriend now?- as though he had been given an electric shock. He let his hands fall to his sides, feeling helpless. Fucking Caesar, Huey his told his so-called best friend that he would tell Jazmine what he had done, but that asshole went and did so before Huey could. But he wouldn't blame Caesar. Huey recognized that there wasn't much that he could say at the moment, that he couldn't find any excuses to justify his actions. Not to say that he did justify what he did; he was in the wrong and he knew that and he regretted what he did. He just couldn't convince Jazmine of that. He watched as she leaned against the tall oak tree, their tree, and wrapped her arms around herself, worrying her bottom lip, blinking profusely and taking heaving breaths. Huey knew that she was trying, with everything in her, not to cry. No, she wouldn't let him see her in such a vulnerable state. Not after hurting her the way he did. Huey sighed, running a hand through his big hair. He had really fucked up epically this time. _

_"Jaz, it was a mistake. A stupid, drunken mistake. Baby, I'm sorry." Huey was swearing off any and all types of alcohol considering the fact that he's such a stupid fucking drunk. Never a-fucking-gain. _

_But Jazmine was shaking her head, her curly hair moving with the movement, at him, at the whole damn situation. The gesture let Huey know what was coming next: Jazmine was washing her hands of him, breaking up with him, denying him a second chance- and not necessarily in that order. _

_Huey shrugged, his mouth opening and closing as he tried hard to form a coherent sentence that would get Jazmine to understand that he was sorrier than he had ever been about anything and that the fact that he had betrayed her trust and their relationship for a drunken one night stand that he couldn't even really remember and some girl from one of his classes named Francesca (Frankie for short) made him want to shoot himself or something because that kind of pain had to be better than this. But Huey wasn't too good with expressing himself and his feelings- he never had been- and his apologies always felt stiff falling from his lips, especially when he wholeheartedly meant them. He felt awkward and lost and, he didn't want to admit it, afraid. He was afraid of losing Jazmine to some stupid shit he'd pulled and the only thing running through his mind was 'how can I fix this?__'_

_Huey went to take a step closer to Jazmine but stopped short remembering that she didn't want him near her. A sigh escaped from him and his shoulders slumped, feeling a defeat that he couldn't remember ever feeling. "What can I do to make this better, Jaz?"_

_"I don't think you can."_

* * *

><p>"Huey."<p>

He quickly dropped his hand from her arm and Jazmine could feel her hands start to tremble and shake. She could practically hear the way her heart was stomping around in her chest. Her breathing was irratic- oh, goodness; she wasn't having a panic attack was she?

"Jazmine."

Jazmine looked up at Huey-she had forgotten he was so tall, her head barely came to his shoulders- and what little breath she had was gone. He looked...different, more mature, than he had the last time Jazmine had seen him. Jazmine shook her head. Jazmine had to remind herself that a lot of things had changed since that day at the hill. "Hi."

"Hey." Huey's eyes searched Jazmine and she knew that he was in the same boat as she was: there was so much to say, where to start?

Huey looked at Jazmine and, damn, was she a sight for sore eyes. She had told that him that he could see her 'soon' a few nights ago, but he didn't think that it would be this soon and without warning. Huey almost took a step closer towards her, this was the closest he'd been to her since that day at the hill, the day they broke up and he needed, ached, to close the space between them. He almost did before his gaze dropped down to her left hand. It felt as though a bucket of ice water had been dumped over Huey's head. Oh. Right. How could he have forgotten?

"Here's your, uh, purse." Huey held out the clutch that had fallen out of Jazmine's clutch just a few moments previously when Jazmine collided into him, his eyes train somewhere to his left.

Jazmine tried to catch his gaze again, but Huey didn't look back. With hurt tracing her features, she took the small black clutch back. She tried to ignore how Huey had snatched his hand back when their fingertips grazed each other. "Thank you."

Huey nodded in response. "Uh, wh-what are you doing here?", Huey asked, cringing a bit and rubbing at the back of his neck when he realized he sounded a bit rude.

Jazmine struggled for words. "I'm with," Jazmine started off, but thought better of it, asking, "How are you?''.

Huey caught her hesitation. She must have been there with Caesar.

"Uh...", Huey trailed off. The awkwardness was absurd. Things shouldn't have been the way that they were. "I'm...good."

''That's good." Jazmine bit the corner of her bottom lip. She didn't know what to say that wouldn't involve her telling Huey that she still wanted him and only him.

They fell into a silence so unlike the comfortable ones that they used to share, Jazmine biting her bottom lip, her tell-tale show of nervousness that Huey remembered noticing within days of meeting her, and Huey with his hands shoved into his pockets, adopting a laissez-faire policy because he was 'this' close to touching Jazmine, any part of her, and it wasn't acceptable, simply because Jazmine wasn't his to touch.

"Look, Jaz-"

"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here. How come I wasn't invited to this little reunion?"

Jazmine's eyes grew twice in size, her gaze bouncing from Caesar to Huey and back to Caesar. How long had Caesar seen them talking? He wasn't upset, was he? But Jazmine noticed the slight grin on Caesar's handsome face and she felt her eyebrows furrow in confusion. It was no secret that there was no love lost when it came to Huey and Caesar and it was no secret that she had been the cause of it. At least, that was what Jazmine had always assumed. She hoped that with Caesar's slick mouth and Huey's general dislike for his former friend, that there would be no blows thrown like the last time.

Huey had noticed Jazmine's eyes widen slight panic when Caesar walked up to them. He couldn't tell if it was out of nervousness or fear. The thought of it being either irritated him to no end. He watched as Caesar wrapped a possesive arm around Jazmine's waist and planted a kiss on her temple. Huey looked away, clenching his jaw. Such a cute couple.

Caesar smiled down at Jazmine and pulled her even closer. "I was beginning to think you fell in or something." Jazmine smiled phonily, something that Huey could easily tell because her eyes stayed flat and Jaz always had been a bad liar. Caesar looked at Huey then and he had to refrain from punching the smug look off of Caesar's face. It was the same look Ceasar had been wearing the last time Huey had had the ultimate displeasure of being in his company. Huey's hands balled into fists in his pockets. He wouldn't knock Caesar the fuck out like he had then, after Caesar decided to rub in the fact that he had Jazmine. No, it wasn't the time or the place. "Freeman." Caesar had managed to sound pleasant, but Huey saw right through it. They had been best friends at some point.

Huey straightened and gave the other man a nonchalant nod, determined to get it through to Caesar's dumb ass that he wasn't affected by his display. "Michael."

Caesar faltered, scowling and it made Huey smirk. He knew that Caesar despised being called by his given name for whatever reason, so much that he had asked his mother to regard him by his last name only. It may have been childish, Huey admitted, but he gained a sense of satisfaction at ruffling Caesar's feathers.

Jazmine slightly shook her head, her eyes closing as she did so. There went her hope for this to not turn out badly.

The tense moment didn't last long, though, when Caesar suddenly smiled brightly, shaking his head as though he had heard a good joke that Jazmine and Huey hadn't. "I forgot how funny you were, Huey. I must admit, if there's one thing that I miss about you, it's that wild sense of humor of yours."

Huey chuckled, a chuckle filled not with amusement, but the biting sarcasm he was known for. "Well, I can't say the same. My life has been much more enjoyable without you in it."

Jazmine looked up at the light fixture hanging over their heads. God, this had to be some type of karmic payback for something that she couldn't remember doing.

Caesar waved a hand at Huey's words. "Psh, come on, Huey. I can't believe you're still mad about that. We can't let bygones be bygones?"

Huey looked over at Jazmine then, brown eyes boring into green. They both knew what Caesar was referring to and they both wondered what things would have been like for them if it had never happened. Huey's gaze flicked down to Caesar's hand on Jazmine's waist. Jazmine could see his eyes grow hard and cold at the sight. Jazmine wiggled her way out of Caesar's grasp. She didn't think he noticed.

"I should go, uh, I've got a friend waiting for me," Huey said completely ignoring Caesar's request, his eyes locked onto Jazmine's. A friend? Jazmine briefly wondered if this friend of his was a woman. Was he on a date or something? She couldn't help the rush of envy that flooded through her being at the thought.

Jazmine took a small step forward before she caught herself. She couldn't hug him, what was she thinking? "It was nice seeing you, Huey."

Huey nodded, running a hand quickly through his afro. "Yeah, you too." Huey turned to Caesar and opened his mouth to say something. He promptly shut it when he realized that what he wanted to say wouldn't be polite. "Michael."

Caesar smirked, putting out a hand for Huey to shake. "Nice seeing you, Freeman."

Jazmine watched as Huey regarded Caesar's hand with distrust before he shook it, hand firm and eye contact strong. He dropped it after a moment and, with another look Jazmine's way, Huey walked away.

* * *

><p>"Dang, Huey, you can't hold the door open?"<p>

Huey looked back at Stacy, his neighbor that lived down the hall from him, struggling with the heavy door to their small, dingy apartment building lobby. Huey backtracked to her and grasped the iron doorknob so that she could get in. He let the door slam closed and walked over to the stairs, because the elevator only worked when it wanted to and made his way to their floor, Stacy muttering about bad attitudes ruining a good night behind him.

Huey couldn't fucking believe what had just happened not too long before. He remembered Caesar's smirking face and no amount of calming breathes could keep him from wanting to punch a wall or something.

"You better not. You know Dupree is gonna raise your rent again," Stacy warned. Huey hadn't realized that he had said anything out loud. He glanced at Stacy with her dyed fire red hair, who was suddenly walking up the creaky wooden steps next to him, her heels making what Huey thought was way too much noise as she did so. "What's wrong with you anyway?"

"Nothing."

"Somethin'."

Huey rolled his eyes and exhaled harshly, exasperated. Stacy had been on his case about why his "panties were in a bunch" since he had returned to their table back at the restaurant. He wasn't too keen on telling her that it was because he had just ran into his ex, who he also happened to still be in love with, and her fiancé, who he used to be friends with but was now, possibly, the biggest dickhead he knew. Huey made a mental note to talk Stacy into having takeout the next time she suggested having dinner like she did so often, if only to avoid the total mind fuck that had occurred. "Stacy, just leave it alone."

They reached their floor faster than Huey had realized and Stacy rolled her eyes, fishing her keys out of her purse. "Fine, be that way."

Huey watched as she put her key into the lock and opened her door. He waited until she was in her place before he walked over to his own across the hall. He had just turned the lock when Stacy's creaky door squealed open and she stuck her head into the hallway. "Hey, Huey?"

Huey glanced over his shoulder. "What?"

She smiled toothily and Huey was reminded why he had asked her out on a date when he first moved in. Which hadn't worked out at all; he was just trying to forget about Jazmine despite his not being over her and Stacy had just broken up with a boyfriend. They quickly realized that they were better suited as friends and they were okay with that. "Whatever it is, it'll be okay."

Huey sighed, shaking his head. Stacy meant well, but Huey never had been optimistic. ''Thanks, Stace. Have a good night, okay?"

"Yeah, you too."

* * *

><p>Caesar pushed open the door to their apartment and stepped to the side, letting Jazmine walk in ahead of him. Jazmine promptly kicked off her heels, pushing them to the side of wall in the hallway. She shot a glance to Caesar and saw him toss his keys onto the wooden table and shrug off the jacket of his suit. They hadn't said much of anything to one another since dinner had ended and they'd separated from Jamison and Lauren. Jazmine was reluctant to say anything about the whole running into Huey thing, which had been on her mind since it happened. She didn't want to upset him and start anything that could be avoided.<p>

Jazmine had taken two steps foward fully intending on making her way to the bathroom to get out of her dress and take off her make-up and get into bed when Caesar's hand grabbed hers, pulling her flush to his chest, his hands resting low on her back.

"Where you goin'?"

Jazmine tried not to roll her eyes; it was the fastest way to convince Caesar that she had an attitude and make him defensive. She sighed lightly instead. "Caesar, I'm tired."

Caesar smiled down at Jazmine, much more sincere than he had been earlier with Huey. "Give me a kiss before you go."

Jazmine paused, studying Caesar before she smiled softly. This almost reminded her of when she and Caesar first got together. It almost was enough to make her forget about the fact that she wasn't in love with him. Almost.

Jazmine tilted her head upwards slightly, wishing that there was more of a height difference, and met Caesar halfway, their lip pressing softly together and their eyes closing. After a moment Caesar intensified the kiss and Jazmine let him because it felt good and it was sweet and she knew that if it weren't for all of his faults and her feelings for another man, Jazmine really could have loved him and been happy.

Caesar raised his hands to cradle Jazmine's face and for the first time in a long while, she felt cared for and appreciated. She enjoyed it while she could because Jazmine knew, she knew that once she and Caesar seperated, reality would slap her in the face and the reality was that she and Caesar would never go back to the way they used to be, no matter how much they ignored the facts and wished, and wished, and wished that they could.

Jazmine slowly pulled away from Caesar when oxygen became a necessity. Caesar stared into Jazmine's eyes and she wondered if another woman could appreciate his dark brown eyes the way that she knew she didn't.

"I love you, J."

And Jazmine smiled because it was expected of her and all she did these days was what was expected, rarely what she wanted, and she lied, because she knew that the truth wouldn't be appreciated and who really, honestly, liked to hear the truth about things they'd been, for the longest, lying to themselves about?

"I love you, too."

* * *

><p><strong>Hmm, Jaz made me a little sad at the end. I hope you enjoyed that. Expect some Cindy &amp; Riley next time and the whole Huey, Jazmine and Caesar situation from a couple of years back will be thoroughly explained . I'll try to update as soon as I get the chance. And drop me a review, please. :) <strong>


	10. Knocking On Any Door, Hoping It's Yours

**Author's Note- Hey! Thank you to all that reviewed and alerted and whatnot. I really appreciate it. So, with midterms & regents exams out of the way I got around to writing! I've still got a couple thangs due, but I'll get them done without it interfering with this. Now, I must say, I'm really not digging this chapter. Compared to the last one, this one just falls flat, and it's a lil' boring, but I had to write this to get to what I have planned for chapter 11. And...I've mentioned Hiro in passing, like, three times, but I figured that he should make an appearance. Italics are flashbacks. **

**Disclaimer- Really though?**

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><p><em>"Son, come on! This is the last time to chill, drink, and have a little bit of fun before finals." Caesar blew out a sigh and crossed his arms, sucking his teeth as he did so. "Yo, I know you ain't gonna let some little fight with J keep you from enjoying yourself."<em>

_''First of all, I ain't your 'son'. How many times do I have to tell you that? Secondly, that 'little fight with J' wasn't so little. This is serious, Cease. She's really fucking pissed at me and I don't think that me going out to some party, hanging around a bunch of people I don't even like and getting fucked up, is going to help matters,'' Huey said, irritation lacing his voice and showing in the way he glared at his best friend. It seemed as though frat parties were Caesar's solution to every problem. And while it was good for killing a bad case of boredom, Huey didn't think that Jazmine would be too happy if she somehow heard through the grapevine that he was out having a jolly good time when their relationship was in a state of distress. _

_Caesar waved a hand like he usually did when he didn't think that something should be taken seriously. Huey didn't really know why it irritated him this time. After all these years of being exposed Caesar's optimistic, cool as the breeze, I-could-really-care-less attitude, Huey should have been expecting such a response. _

_"Look, Huey, this isn't the first fight you and J have had. You give her some time, a few days to be angry and vent to Cindy about how much she hates you, and you two will be right back to cupcaking like normal. But until then," Caesar paused, walking to the coffee table and picking up Huey's worn leather wallet and keys, tossing them towards his chest, "we're going to this damn party. You're too damn young to be sittin' around here all depressed and I'm far too sexy to be alone on a Friday night." _

_Huey sighed, giving a shake of his head and glanced down at his cell phone he held in his hand. It had been a few days, five to be exact, since he and Jazmine had had a conversation that wasn't held through stilted, awkward texts and phone calls. Huey had tried to get Jazmine to talk to him, but the girl could be stubborn as hell when she wanted to be and with Cindy guarding their apartment like the watchdog from hell, seeing her face to face was not an option. Huey let his thumb ghost over the call button on his phone, before he put it in his back pocket. Cease was right. Jazmine just needed some space. There was always tomorrow._

_Huey stood, grabbing his leather jacket from where it sat slung over the back of the couch. "Let's go."_

_Caesar smiled, bright and wide, his arms spread. "See, brother? Uncle Cease knows best. You should listen to him more often."_

* * *

><p>"...so what do you think, man?"<p>

Huey glanced up from small carton of lo mein and up towards Hiro's face. He shrugged, not having really listened to Hiro debate whether or not he should drop a mixtape in the summer or if he should just wait and if he did, would people even want to hear it? Huey decided to give his friend a cop out of an answer.

"It's really up to you."

Hiro made a jerky move of his head, rolling his eyes. "A lot of help you are."

Huey threw up his hands, leaning back in the rickety chair where he sat, exasperated. "Well, excuse me for having my own damn problems to figure out." Huey snatched his carton of half eaten lo mein off of the tacky green tableclothe covered table of Hiro's family restaurant and grumpily poked at it. He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep the night before, mainly because his mind decided to torture him by concocting scenarios where Huey ran into Jazmine and Caesar in public and they proceeded to have wild sex in front of him. Huey shook his head. He wasn't about to think about that shit.

Hiro cast Huey a sympathetic look. Huey had let him in on what had happened the night before and Hiro felt for his friend. He didn't know much about the whole fiasco that was Huey and Jazmine's break up- the topic of Jazmine was off limits for Huey and Hiro and Jazmine had never been that close to begin with- but Hiro knew that he was still caught up on her. It wasn't a secret though, it could be seen in the way Huey tensed when her name was brought up and how he hadn't been involved with other women since the breakup. Hiro didn't really know how it felt to be in such a position, but he imagined that being in love with an ex girlfriend when there seemed to be little to no hope of getting her back had to be one of the shittiest things ever. Damn, it hurt to see his mans like this, all pitiful and angry and sad and whatnot. Huey was all kinds of fucked up right now.

"You know what I'm gonna do for you?"

Huey lifted an eyebrow.

"I'm gonna find you a bitch," Hiro said smiling as though he had come up with the best idea since sliced bread. It was only until he registered the blank, hardened stare on Huey's face that his smile faltered. "What, man?"

Huey shook his head. How fucking dumb. "You're starting to sound like Riley."

"Hiro!" Both Hiro and Huey turned at the sound of the tiny Asian woman standing at the counter just a few feet away from their table. Hiro sucked his teeth loudly and Huey almost did the same. Mrs. Otomo was always hollering about something-usually in Japanese- for no reason. Hadn't they taught her about inside voices back in Japan, or wherever the hell she came from?

"What, Ma?" Mrs. Otomo replied rapidly in her native language, her arms gesturing wildly and her voice growing louder with each word. Huey glanced at the other three customers in the small family restaurant and wondered if Hiro's mother realized that they were staring.

"I'll do it later, damn! Don't you see me talking to Huey?", Hiro's voice was as loud as his mother's. Huey grabbed his black leather jacket from the empty seat next to him and slipped it on, blowing out a sigh past his lips. Although watching Hiro and his mother go back and forth about the littlest things was sometimes entertaining and reminded him of how his grandfather and Riley used to bicker, Huey just didn't have the patience for it.

"Hey, man, I'll catch you later", Huey said giving Hiro dap.

Hiro looked disappointed. "Aw, you leavin' already? Look at what you did, Ma! Now Huey's leaving! You good, homie?"

Huey nodded. "Yeah. I just...I just need some alone time.''

Hiro shot Huey a skeptical look, but said nothing. He knew Huey and he knew that he liked to work through his problems by himself, without assistance. It was a pride thing, Hiro knew. Huey Freeman didn't need or ask for anyone's help.

"Aight. I'll holler at you later."

''Bet.'' Huey made his way to the door not bothering to say anything to Hiro's mother. Her mean ass would probably screw face him like she always did.

"Dammit, Ma! You always do that!"

* * *

><p>"Two for five, two for five. Ladies, I got CDs, DVDs, what you want, what you need?"<p>

Cindy and Jazmine flashed the balding dark skinned man charming smiles as they politely declined his offer of pirated albums and movies. They manuevered through the somewhat crowded sidewalk filled with suit wearing businessmen and women on their lunch hour easily as they talked.

"So when I am I going to meet your boyfriend?"

"He is not my boyfriend," Cindy huffed, glaring at Jazmine. Although Cindy did like Jamal, and he liked her, and they had engaged in very heated make out sessions, very frequently, she was hesitant to jump into a relationship with him. Cindy had yet to determine if it was because she was a bit of a commitaphobe or if she was just waiting for someone (her mind told her Riley, but she shut down the suggestion. She didn't want Riley.) else.

"Cin, I heard you while you were on the phone with him. You called him 'baby' a grand total of four times-"

"You actually counted? Really?'', Cindy asked, her voice filled with increduality.

"-And you kept doing that giggle you do when a guy says something that you think is really cute", Jazmine said, a teasing smile alighting her face, ignoring Cindy's interruption.

Cindy snorted, an affronted expression overtaking her features. "Giggle? Girl, please, I'm too gangsta for giggles.''

"Well, they didn't call you McFearsome for nothin'," Jazmine replied airily, hooking her arm through Cindy's. The blonde side-eyed the curly haired young woman next to her. Jazmine was smiling way too much today. Not that there was a limit on the number of smiles that one could throw around, but this, for Jazmine, was unusual.

"You're in a pretty good mood," Cindy stated, her eyes trained on Jazmine's. Her green eyes flashed in a way that Cindy couldn't quite decipher before it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

"The weather's nice today." Jazmine shrugged her shoulders feigning an attitude of nonchalance. It was always easy to pretend that she was great until someone called her out.

Cindy glanced around their surroundings. Yeah, it was sunny and the sky was blue without a cloud in sight, with only the slightest chill in the air but this was typical for mid-April. Cindy repressed the urge to roll her eyes. The weather. Yeah fucking right.

"Well, how was dinner last night? You and Caesar went with some other couple, right?"

Jazmine exhaled heavily, her shoulders slumping as she did so. She had done a good job of not thinking about what had happened, pushing it to the back of her mind and telling herself that she would deal with it another day. Of course Cindy was making her deal with something that she would rather forget. "Cin, it was bad."

"What happened?", Cindy asked concern in her eyes.

Shaking her head and rolling her eyes a bit, Jazmine quietly replied, "Huey was there."

Cindy leaned in closer to Jazmine, wondering if she had misheard. "Who?"

"Huey!", Jazmine snapped, a bit of misdirected annoyance present in her voice.

"Well, you don't have to get loud!", Cindy snapped back. The girls glanced at each other and rolled their eyes at one another, neither saying anything for a short moment before Cindy's curiosity overruled her slight irritation.

"So...what did you do?"

Jazmine scoffed as she remembered being too scared to say anything to Huey because of Caesar's presence and not knowing what to say. "I didn't do anything. I just sort of stood there while Huey and Caesar exchanged thinly veiled insults."

"World War Three didn't break out, did it?" Cindy was there the last time Huey and Caesar were in a room together and it had not been pretty. It had taken Riley, Hiro, and herself to get Huey to stop throwing punches at Caesar. The fighting had completly ruined her party but she hadn't minded too much because that night, Caesar needed a good ass-whupping.

"No. Thank goodness." Jazmine would not have been able to deal with that.

"Have ya'll talked since he called you that one night?"

Yes, but Jazmine didn't really want to disclose that information. She had a feeling that Cindy would outright question her about why she and her ex were on speaking terms all of a sudden and Jazmine knew that she would lie, even though she really didn't have to with Cindy, about why because even she didn't know. All Jazmine knew was that Huey's sudden reappearance in her life was making her question things that she thought she had already figured out. "No."

"Maybe ya'll should. I mean, you and Huey got a lot of unfinished business. Maybe if you talked, face to face, ya'll could get some, I don' know, closure", Cindy explained.

Jazmine chewed on her bottom lip, mulling Cindy's suggestion over. Huey had brought the whole 'we should talk' thing up not too long ago, but Jazmine had copped out with a response of 'soon'. It wasn't that she didn't want to see Huey. It was just that she didn't know what she would do once she and Huey were in a room together, alone. Huey was an enigma. She had the hardest time trying to figure him out while he already knew her like the back of his hand. Which made it hard to try and lie and fool him. It would be a futile attempt. He saw right through her. "I guess."

"Just think about it, okay?"

Jazmine nodded, even though she had already made a decision. "I will."

* * *

><p><em>"Yo, Huey, where you been? I was lookin' all over for you," Caesar said, leaning in towards Huey so he could be heard through the music once he found him posted against the wall alone, nursing a bottle of vodka. Caesar briefly wondered where Huey got it from, before shrugging it off. He could smell the alcohol emanating off of his friend and it made him shake his head. Huey didn't drink often but when he did, he usually went all out, trying to drown his troubles. And it usually worked until he ended up doing something that he almost always regretted in the morning. <em>

_Huey swayed the slightest bit before regaining his balance and standing tall. "I was with Frankie."_

_Caesar's brow furrowed with the information. Who the hell was Frankie? Huey glanced somewhere behind Caesar and raised a hand, a drunken smirk on his face. Caesar turned, immediately noticing the attractive but scantily dressed mocha skinned girl with a long black weave. Oh, yeah. That Frankie. The ratchet ass Frankie that had a class with Huey and made passes and blatantly flirted with him every chance she got despite knowing damn well that he was with Jazmine. Huey didn't like the girl at all (Frankie was always looking for ways to stir up trouble in his and Jazmine's relationship, and she was kind of a ho.) so why was he standing in front of Caesar grinning and cheesing at her like she the sun magically shone out of her ass? _

_"You were talkin' to Frankie? I thought you didn't like her ass?", Caesar asked, turning back to Huey._

_Huey shrugged, his eyes closing lazily. "I guess she's alright. S'not like we did much talkin' anyway." Caesar stood there, his face questioning, as he watched Huey suddenly open his eyes and glance down at the practically empty bottle of vodka in his hand. Huey slowly bent down, putting the bottle on the floor against the wall, and stood back up, scrubbing a hand over his face as he did so. Huey sighed, looking the most sober and clear headed Caesar had seen him in the past five minutes. "Look, man, I gotta- I gotta get outta here."_

_"Want me to come with you? I can-"_

_"No," Huey shook his head, and shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his leather jacket. Caesar couldn't help but notice that Huey looked a bit lost as he looked around at the rest of the oblivious partygoers. What the hell was wrong with him? "You stay. Have fun. I'll see you back at the apartment."_

_"Alright." Caesar stood watching Huey make his way out of the party. ''S'not like we did much talkin' anyway." What had Huey meant by that?_

_Caesar's musing was interrupted by a harsh tapping on his shoulder. He quickly turned around and upon setting his eyes on Frankie rolled his dark brown eyes. This girl... "Wassup?"_

_Frankie let her eyes roam up and down Caesar's body before she smiled appreciatively. Caesar rolled his eyes once more. Did she not know a thing about subtly? "You and Huey are friends, right?" _

_"Yeah..."_

_''Well, let him know that if he ever wants to," Frankie paused here, a mischievious and sneaky smirk emerging on face, and emitted a laugh and Caesar wondered what was so damn funny, "talk again, Frankie's always around for another round." The young woman collapsed into a fit of laughter, and stumbled away from Caesar._

_"S'not like we did much talkin' anyway."_

_"...another round.''_

_The moment Caesar realized what had most likely happened between Huey and Frankie, it was as though a light bulb had flickered on. "Shit."_

_Oh, yeah. Huey was definetly going to be regretting this in the morning._

* * *

><p>Jazmine stood in front of apartment 4E wishing like she always did. She wished that she didn't have to be there, her heel clad feet rooted to the slightly dirty carpet of the hallway, with an anxiety that coursed through her body and turned her nerves into a frayed mess. She wished that she could turn her back on her past, which was right on the other side of the door she stood in front of. Jazmine shifted from one foot to the other, glancing towards the elevator at the end of the hall, before turning her glance to the small scrap of paper ripped from an old flyer sitting on the floor of her car in her hand. It had taken the promise of free hair braiding sessions for a month for Jazmine to get Huey's address from Riley (she'd asked for his number from Cindy who, with a slightly suspicious look on her face, gave it to her without question) because he didn't 'do favors for fake ass Mariah Carey lookin' bitches that like to drop a nigga jus' 'cause my wack ass brother fronted on yo' ass without gettin' somethin' in return'. Jazmine recognized that she could have simply called Huey and asked him where he lived- it wouldn't have been nearly as difficult as dealing with her old friend- but she had a feeling that she would immediately lose the little bit of courage she had managed to scrape up once she heard his voice.<p>

Jazmine sighed. Huey shouldn't have affected her so much. Not after all this time.

Shaking her head and squaring her shoulders as if that would give her a bit of confidence, Jazmine raised her hand and knocked, her heart beating faster each time her knuckles made contact with the door.

* * *

><p><strong>This was...blah. Yeah...that's that. The big fight or argument that Jaz &amp; Huey had back when they were together will be eplained soon. I'll try to update as soon as possible, I'm not certain when, but you won't have to wait for the next chapter as long as you had to for this one. I hope you enjoyed it. Drop me a review, please. :) Peace.<strong>


	11. All That I Have Is On The Floor

**Shanaynay, oh my goodness. I have been gone for, what, a month or two almost? *Hiding my face in shame* I'm soooo sorry. I don't really have a good reason for my absence besides the fact that I've been lazy as hell. But I'm on spring break so I decided to write. Anywho...Thank you for the reviews of the last chapter. They really keep me motivated to write. There are three flashbacks in this mainly Jazmine & Huey chapter. (Sorry Riley & Cindy fans. Maybe next chapter?) They aren't very long but they most definitely give some insight into what happened leading up to Jazmine & Huey's break up. So they are kinda important. **

**Disclaimer- Really?**

* * *

><p><em>Jazmine and Huey sat on the shiny, cool wooden floor of the darkened hallway outside of the bathroom in the apartment she shared with Cindy as they waited. They clasped hands, with Huey's thumb making small circles in her palm, as they waited for the kitchen timer sitting on the sink of the bathroom ring. Jazmine glanced at the worn leather watch on Huey's left arm (she was sure that he'd been wearing it the day they met) and bit back a sigh- two more minutes would feel like an eternity. <em>

_"Hey," Huey murmured, tugging on Jazmine's hand to get her to look up at him. "Everything's gon' be alright."_

_"But...," Jazmine trailed off, swallowing past the lump in her throat that had been present since she'd realized that her period not coming and the nausea that had been plaguing her for the last two weeks probably wasn't attributed to school related stress. She quickly raised her free hand to her eyes to swipe away the build up of tears, telling herself that she wasn't going to cry. "What if the test comes out positive, Huey? What if I'm pregnant?"_

_Huey didn't say anything at first, letting his head fall back on the wall behind them and continuing the tiny ministrations of his thumb on Jazmine's palm. It was only when Jazmine had begun to wonder if Huey had even heard her that he responded. "I don't know, Jaz. But we'll figure it out. We always do."_

* * *

><p>Shaking her head and squaring her shoulders with a confidence that she knew she didn't really have, Jazmine raised her hand and knocked, her heart beating faster each time her knuckles made contact with the door.<p>

Jazmine stood there, her hands clapsed tightly around the handle of her purse, for a moment before she heard the sound of movement on the other side of the door. The thought of fleeing before he could get to the door suddenly crossed Jazmine's mind and her feet actually turned her around towards the stairwell next to the broken elevator at the end of the hall. She had only taken a small, hurried step forward when he opened the door and Jazmine stilled immediately, cursing herself for even doing it. Goodness, she was such a punk.

"Hi," Jazmine said, unecessarily lifting a hand in a tiny wave as she did so. Huey said nothing, staring at her quizically, dark eyes narrowed, his ever present frown attatched to his face. Jazmine knew that he was wondering what the hell she was doing there. She was too.

"Um," Jazmine tore her eyes away from Huey's gaze -why was he looking at her like that?- towards her heels and back up again, this time not quite meeting his eyes. She couldn't bear the intensity emanating from them at that moment. ''Can we talk?"

Huey studied Jazmine for a long, tortorous moment and for a second, Jazmine felt like he knew. She felt like Huey knew that her hands were prickled slightly with perspiration, that she couldn't breath quite right with him staring at her like that, as if she were some foreign specimen under a microscope, and that her heart was doing some type of cardio routine in her chest. Huey had to have known or sensed it. This was the all knowing Huey P. Freeman, after all. She knew that no matter how much time they had spent away from one another, Huey still knew Jazmine like the back of his hand and she would have been lying to herself if she had said that it didn't scare her a little.

Huey, saying nothing, finally took a step back, opening his door further as he did so. Jazmine, holding her breath, quickly slid in past the man before he could change his mind and tell her to take her ass home. She felt Huey's eyes on her as she did so and Jazmine had to fight to make it seem as though it didn't bother her.

"So...", Huey said closing and locking the door behind him. He leaned against it, sticking his hands in the pockets of his black sweatpants, his gaze stuck on Jazmine as she glanced around his small apartment. She wasn't really interested in the decor, but it provided a means of escape from Huey's unwavering and probing gaze and the sight of his muscular arms that were on display due to the wifebeater he wore. "How'd you get my address?"

Huey never was one for beating around the bush.

"Your brother. He didn't seem too happy to hear from me", Jazmine replied scrunching her nose in a wince as she remembered the tongue lashing she received from her old friend and neighbor.

Huey merely raised an eyebrow. He knew all too well about Riley's saltiness regarding Jazmine's lack of contact. Somehow, Jazmine had decided that breaking up with Huey and cutting off contact with him meant that she had to do the same with his brother. Despite Riley not being able to tolerate Jazmine for too long when they were kids, by high school, through tutoring and Jazmine being Riley's go to hair braider, the two got close. Close enough to the point where Riley had stopped referring to Jazmine as ''that nappy headed light skinned heifer''.

"You could've called me."

"I know," Jazmine shrugged as her green eyes caught sight of an open laptop resting on an old looking desk just a few feet away from her. "I wasn't interrupting was I? I can go if you need me to", her words came out in a rush and Jazmine found herself hoping that she was intruding so that they could do this another day. The awkwardness and tension was eating away at her.

When Huey shook his head Jazmine felt her shoulders slump. "Nah, you're fine." Huey walked over to the computer and closed it, the small sound of the screen hitting the base seeming louder than it should have in their shared silence.

With Huey now leaning against the wooden desk and Jazmine still rooted to the same spot she had been in for the past five minutes or so, they watched each other and waited for the other to make the first move.

* * *

><p><em>"Are you sure you wanna do this?"<em>

_A sigh came and then, a beat later, Jazmine replied, "Not really."_

_Huey turned in the driver's seat so that he was facing his girlfriend's profile. He noticed that Jazmine didn't look at him, instead gazing out of the window towards the clinic. She had been doing that frequently for the last eight days, since they discovered that Jazmine was pregnant, always looking off somewhere to the side, never at him, just thinking. Huey watched Jazmine trail a pale pink painted finger across the window, cutting a line through the condesation that had formed due to the rain. "Jaz, if you don't wanna go through with this I can take you home. I'll buy you Ben & Jerry's, take you home, and we can watch Love Jones for the upteenth time. Hell, I won't even complain this time. "_

_Huey didn't receive a response. Jazmine didn't even blink._

_"You don't have to do this, you know." _

_Jazmine finally pulled her eyes, tinged red and puffy, away from the raindrops pelting the window and met Huey's dark ones. Huey hated to see the reminder of Jazmine's tears. They weren't ten anymore and a crying Jazmine didn't spark satisfaction within him. Sometimes Huey swore that if he were Superman, Jazmine's tears would be his kryptonite. "I'm scared."_

_Huey sighed and took Jazmine's small hand in his larger, darker one, an action that he had been doing countless times recently. "Don't be, aight? I've got your back no matter what."_

_"You won't hate me will you?"_

_Huey's brow creased in confusion. How the hell could he ever hate Jazmine? "What?"_

_Jazmine sniffled and tugged the sleeves of the pullover she wore, which happened to be Huey's, over her hands. The girl was already petite and, with Huey's old oversized Wuncler High School sweater, she looked tiny. "If I have this abor-", Jazmine stopped, not being able to say the word. It felt heavy and wrong and the word made her tongue heavy, like having a peanut butter sandwich without a glass of milk would. She gripped Huey's hand tighter. "I don't want you to hate or resent me for this, because I know that you don't agree and-"_

_"You're right. I don't agree. I think that, if we tried, we could do this, that you would be a damn good mother, that even though we're still in college and we're young we would be able to raise a kid together. I don't like it, Jazmine. Not to mention it goes against my beliefs, but," Huey blew a gust of air harshly from between his lips. Huey shook his head slightly. Who would have ever thought that they'd be in such a situation? "I get where you're coming from. We've still got a lot of shit to do, mistakes to make, and lessons to learn. Besides, I wouldn't want us to end up in a place where having a baby splits us apart. If you feel that this is the only option, then, fine. I may not like it, but I love you enough to stand by you."_

_Love, and relief, flooded Jazmine's pretty features. Leaning up, Jazmine placed a soft and lingering kiss on Huey's lips, which he reciprocated, bringing a hand up to cradle her cheek. _

_Pulling away from the kiss, Huey rested his forehead against Jazmine's, looking her square in the eyes as she did the same. "I love you."_

_"I love you too."_

* * *

><p>"Does Caesar know you're here?"<p>

"He thinks that I'm with my mother."

Huey raised an eyebrow. "You think that's a good idea, lying to your fiance? I thought good relationships were built on trust?"

Jazmine raised an eyebrow of her own, crossing her arms defensively and her kneck rolling the smallest bit. "Do you really think that Caesar would have been okay with knowing that I was here? Alone, with you?"

Huey shrugged. Jazmine suddenly had the overbearing urge to throw something at him. "Does it matter? Shit, you grown, right?"

Jazmine rolled her emerald eyes, sucking her teeth. She hated when Huey was being mocking. "Are we really going to talk about Caesar?"

Another shrug. Was there something wrong with his damn shoulders or was the 'Ye shrug all he knew? "You tell me, Jaz. You're the one who showed up at my doorstep wanting to talk."

Jazmine bit her lip and leaned against the arm of the the slightly ratty navy blue armchair close to her. "I need help understanding something."

"Okay."

"Remember when you called me that night?"

Huey ran a hand through his afro. He wasn't forgetting that any time soon. "Yeah."

"Did you mean what you said?"

"I said a lot of things that night, Jazmine."

Jazmine closed her eyes and nearly childishly stomped a foot, her jaw tightening, in a fit of frustration, because, damn it, he knew exactly what she was talking about. Why was he being so difficult with her? He had to have known that this wasn't easy for her. Jazmine opened her eyes a moment later and, while looking into Huey's dark eyes and willing herself not to look away, she quietly said, "I'm talking about when you said that you still love me."

Huey stared blankly at Jazmine for a long, tense moment before he spoke, his voice taking on a defensive edge. "You think that I didn't mean that? That I was just spouting bullshit?"

"I don't know what to think Huey!", Jazmine exclaimed, exasperated, throwing up her hands. "One minute you're the farthest thing from my mind and the next, just because of a phone call, out of the damn blue, might I add, you're practically the only thing I think about. And I'm not supposed to be thinking about my ex-boyfriend when I have a fiance at home."

"Look, I meant what I said. I'll say it a fucking thousand times over if I have to- I love you, Jazmine."

"Huey-"

"And I don't want you thinkin' that I'm just sayin' this shit because I'm jealous or I want to fuck up your relationship 'cause I don't, I just-", Huey stopped himself, silencing his growing voice and turning his gaze toward the ceiling. Huey brought his hands up to scrub them over his face, feeling horribly vulnerable and exposed and frustrated. This wasn't him. He didn't wear his heart on his sleeve and make pleading declarations of love. This wasn't him, but somewhere in his head, Huey's conscience told him that this was him when it came to Jazmine, because this was the woman he loved and he'd be damned if he let her go without putting up the fight he should have put up when Jazmine turned her back on him that day on the hill two years ago. "You're not supposed to be with him."

Jazmine shrugged, feeling hopeless. "But I am, Huey. Soon, I'm going to promise for better or worse, in sickness and in health, 'til death do us part." Huey rolled his eyes at that. He didn't need another reminder. He could already see a nice, large, shiny one sitting on the ring finger of her left hand. "I don't know what you want me to say."

For a moment, the only sound between the two of them was silence, broken by the noise of a passing car outside. Then, abruptly, Huey began to laugh, his broad shoulders shaking as he did so.

Jazmine frowned, green eyes narrowing and her heart starting to pick up it's pace up, because she knew that Huey didn't really find anything to be comical. "What's so funny?"

"You." Straightening up, Huey looked directly at Jazmine, his handsome face turning stony once again, and replied, "You don't even love him and yet you keep trying to come up with bullshit excuses for me to walk away from you."

Jazmine blinked. She could feel her face begin to grow hot, the uncomfortable prickling feeling working it's way from her neck up. "Huey, you don't know what you're talking about. I love Caesar." Jazmine tried not to be too amazed by the fact that she had gotten the declaration out without hesitating or sounding doubtful. Saying such a thing should have been easy.

"No, you don't." Huey's reply was quick and filled with confidence.

Here Huey was, calling Jazmine out on her bullshit. Like he always did.

Refusing to let it come across that his words might have held some truth to them, Jazmine raised her head challengingly. "Oh, really? How do you figure that?"

"What happened to not knowing why you were with him?"

"I...", Jazmine didn't finish the thought, because when she had said it to Huey, it had been one of the most truthful things she had admitted to anyone in a long time and she still hadn't worked that out.

"Do you know that during the whole time Caesar had his arm around you the other night at the restaurant, you were tense, uncomfortable? Did you know that when you smiled at your _man," _Huey emphasized the word, mockingly, as he began to slowly walk towards Jazmine, "that night, it didn't quite reach your eyes?"

Jazmine looked down at Huey's feet and noted, with a bit of anxiety, that though he wasn't invading her space, he was definitely closer than he should've been. Jazmine really didn't need him so close.

Huey's dark eyes studied Jazmine's face for a beat before he continued. "You know, when Caesar walked up on us, you looked scared. Like you thought he was going to do something."

Jazmine remembered the uneasiness and fear that had coursed through her at the sight of Caesar suddenly appearing. She remembered wondering if he would cause a scene or just wait until they got home to deal her by way of his fist or open hand. Jazmine also remembered hoping to God that Huey wouldn't notice. Apparently all of her hoping had been in vain. "What are you _implying_, Huey?"

"I'm not _implying_ anything. I'm _saying_ that I don't think your relationship with that dumbass is as great as you like to make it out to be."

Huey and Jazmine stood there, arms crossed and dark brown, almost maroon, eyes clashing with emerald. Jazmine didn't particularly know how to respond. She felt as though she had one of two options: she could tell Huey that he was right, that her and Caesar's relationship wasn't great at all and no, she didn't love him, at least not like she used to. Or she could do as she had been doing and deny, deny, deny. Deny herself happiness, deny Huey another chance, and deny the fact that Caesar didn't treat her the way that he should have.

Jazmine took the easiest option.

"I'm happy with Caesar."

* * *

><p><em>Jazmine took a small step away from Huey, the words he had shouted just moments earlier echoing in her mind, feeling as though she had been slapped. <em>

_"Shit." The muttered word exited Huey's lips as he realized, too late, what he had said._

_"What?", Jazmine asked dumbly. She had heard what had been said, but, for a reason foreign to her, she couldn't fully comprehend it. Was that how Huey really felt? _

_Huey tried desperately to back track, to find something to say that would somehow erase what had just tumbled out of his mouth. But Huey knew that once something was said, there was no taking it back. There was no rewind button at his disposal for these types of instances. "Jazmine, I didn't-"_

_"You didn't what? You didn't mean to call me a selfish baby killer?" Jazmine stood with her small hands in fists at her sides, her green eyes filling with angry tears. _

_Huey groaned loudly. Jazmine had been increasingly distant ever since the...procedure almost a month earlier and Huey, not being able to take the quieter, moodier and more withdrawn version of his girlfriend had thought that sitting her down and talking it out would help. Something that Huey should have gotten brownie points for, because when did he ever like to do sensitive shit like that? Huey and Jazmine hadn't even been three minutes into their discussion before she began to clam up and frustration started to gnaw at him. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Huey wondered how the fuck a simple talk had turned into a shouting match._

_"Jazmine, that's not what I meant and you know it. It just came out. Fuck-"_

_Jazmine didn't seem to be hearing Huey as she shook her head. "You told me that you were okay with it, that you wouldn't resent me for going through with it."_

_And he didn't. Huey had fully supported Jazmine in her decision, but he'd be a lying motherfucker if he said that he didn't sometimes wonder what it would be like to have a baby on the way, worrying about names and the color of the nursery._

_''I don't, Jazmine. I'm just worried about you, okay?"_

_"Well, don't be." Jazmine said, her voice cold as she angrily swiped tears away from her eyes. "I'm fine."_

_"Jaz-"_

_"Just leave."_

_Huey paused, looking at his girlfriend. Jazmine had turned away from him, her arms crossed over her chest in a manner that suggested to him that she was just fed up with the conversation. There would be no getting through to her, Huey knew. Jazmine was stubborn as hell when she wanted to be. Sighing heavily, Huey walked slowly over to Jazmine and, upon reaching her, placed a chaste but tender kiss on her temple. "I love you."_

_At Jazmine's lack of a response, Huey's shoulder drooped in defeat. Huey made his way out of the apartment, his feet hitting the floor with every step he took the only sound between himself and Jazmine, and closed the door with a resounding click. _

_Huey could hear Jazmine crying from the other side of the door._

* * *

><p>Huey rolled his eyes. Wasn't she tired of lying? "I find that hard to believe.''<p>

Jazmine quirked an eyebrow, not quite ready to back down. "And why is that?"

"If you were as happy as you claim to be, then you wouldn't be here. You wouldn't have to ask me if I meant all that I said the other night, because it wouldn't matter."

Jazmine didn't open her mouth to say anything as her gaze turned towards the floor. He was right, after all. They both knew it.

Jazmine sighed heavily in frustration, her eyes closing as she did so. "Huey, I don't know what to do."

"Just do what's best for you."

That was the thing. Jazmine thought that she had already been doing that. She thought that she had been doing what was best for her when she accepted Caesar's proposal, when she had broken up with Huey, when she had been pregnant and decided to- Jazmine stopped her train of thought. She didn't want to think about that at the moment.

Jazmine abruptly glanced up and suddenly, Huey was closer than she last remembered him being and the air around them seemed heavier because of it. The fact that he was about a foot away from her made her breath catch in her throat and her heart (the traitorous thing. She couldn't do anything around this man without it reacting in some kind of way) hammer almost painfully in her chest. Jazmine expected him to do something, anything, but he didn't. Huey just stood there and stared at her in the same searching, examining way he had at the door earlier.

"What?", Jazmine finally asked. She never could take him looking at her for too long.

"You're beautiful."

Jazmine didn't quite register Huey slowly leaning down towards her until he was just a breath away and his hand had landed lightly on the curve of her waist. She blinked rapidly, trying to form a coherent thought, one that wasn't clouded by the burning touch of Huey's fingers and the smell of his familiar cologne. Jazmine reached a hand to Huey's chest meaning to push him away, because it was all wrong, but grasping his shirt instead because it felt right. "Huey…"

Huey bent his head and dropped a tender feather soft kiss to the column of Jazmine's neck, his stubble grazing her skin as he did so, and then another and another, as he slowly trailed his way up to her lips. Jazmine was vaguely aware of the fact that she should stop Huey, push him away and leave, but his familiar warmth drew her in, reminded her of what it felt like to love and be loved, and kept her there, tied to Huey like an anchor.

And then the short moment was ruined, the peace that the two had suddenly found in one another snatched like a rug from under them when Jazmine's phone began to trill loudly from the inside of her purse.

The two nearly simultaneously slumped their shoulders, a disappointment like no other coursing through their bodies, as they pulled away from each other. Jazmine quickly rifled through her bag to shut off the offending cell phone, but stopped abruptly when she saw the name across the screen. Caesar. Suddenly hit with a flood of guilt, Jazmine quickly hit the ignore button and tossed her phone back in her bag. How could she forget about Caesar? She was with him, yet here she was with Huey. Jazmine shook her head at herself.

What the fuck was she doing?

"I-I should go."

Huey stood a few feet away from Jazmine and although he couldn't see who had called her, he knew who it was. And despite the fact that he had no right to the feeling, Huey tensed with jealousy. "Right. Your precious Caesar is calling. I'm sure you wouldn't want to keep him waiting."

Jazmine shot a pleading look towards Huey and he could tell that she was asking him to be understanding. "Huey, please don't do that."

"Don't do what, Jazmine?"

"Don't-don't make me out to be the bad guy. Please. I just-", Jazmine stopped, not being able to find words to aptly convey what she wanted to say, and bit the corner of her bottom lip, looking as though she wanted to burst into tears.

Huey could see the tears building in Jazmine's eyes and sighed. He was no good with crying Jazmine.

"Come on. I'll walk you out."

* * *

><p>They stood side by side on the sidewalk in front of his building in silence, Jazmine looking away from him because she could still feel his lips on her neck and Huey with his arms folded because his fingers were practically itching with the need to touch her again, as the light evening breeze hit them in a way that let them know that the night would be chilly. They ignored the fact that they had barely resolved whatever was going on between them. Both had done enough talking for the day.<p>

Jazmine swung her car keys in her hand for a moment and, after chancing a quick glance up at Huey, unlocked her car sitting a few spaces over, the chirping sound it made echoing loudly on the nearly empty street. They walked over in complete silence, their steps slow and almost reluctant. Upon reaching the car, Huey reached for the door, opening it for Jazmine.

Jazmine almost smiled. He always was a gentleman.

As Huey held the door open, Jazmine slid into the driver's seat, quickly turning on the car and rolling down her window. She didn't know why she did it considering how at that moment she didn't really know what to say. And even if she did, she doubted that it would have even made a difference. "So..."

Huey shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants and shrugged his broad shoulders. "So."

"What now?"

Huey took his time answering as he glanced up at the darkening sky. After a long moment he turned his gaze back to Jazmine. "I'm not givin' up on you, Jaz," Huey said, confidently and with determination. It would take time, Huey knew, but he didn't really give a damn. As cheesy and corny and pathetic as the shit sounded, he would wait as long as she needed him to.

Jazmine closed her eyes at the declaration. Why did he insist on being so damned persistent? Didn't he know that he was just making things complicated for her?

Without responding, Jazmine snapped on her seatbelt and put the car in drive. "Goodnight, Huey."

Huey stepped away and let Jazmine pull off. As he stood there, in the middle of the street, watching the lights of her car became nothing more than two small dots on the horizon, Huey said, his voice barely a whisper "Goodnight, Jaz."

* * *

><p><strong>Hmmmm...o.0 I don't know how I feel about this. I didn't plan much of this, it just sorta happened. Well, drop me a review, please. I reeeaaally wanna know what you guys think of this. And I will try to update soon (But, don't hold me to this. Ya'll know how I get about updating) Peace :)<strong>


	12. Much I Do About Nothin'

**Hey, everybody. First off, thank you for the reviews, they gave me life! I was so nervous about the last chapter, I mean, abortion is a touchy topic and I didn't want to offend anyone or kick up any controversy. And thank you for the additional alerts and favorites. It's nice to see new readers :)**

**Also, I wanted to correct something- the date of Jazmine and Caesar's wedding. I know that I mentioned in the first chapter that the wedding would be in four weeks. Now, when I wrote that, I wrote that thinking that this story would be a two-shot, with the second chapter fast forwarded a month to the wedding, but now, with the way this is going, that doesn't seem reasonable, or realistic, to me. So, for the sake of the story, let's pretend that I said the wedding is in two months in the first chapter and, at this point, it about six weeks away. Okay? **

**Disclaimer- Ya'll already know...**

* * *

><p>As the bright morning light streamed through cracked blinds and hit Jazmine's eyes, she winced, turning away for a few more minutes of uninterrupted sleep. But the sleep that she yearned for became elusive and Jazmine finally forced herself up, huffing and tugging off the slik scarf on her head as she did so. She vaguely noticed that the other side of the bed was empty and she knew that if she were more awake, she would appreciate that fact.<p>

"Oh, you're awake."

Jazmine glanced up at Caesar, who was already dressed for work and fastening his royal blue tie, as he walked towards the bed. He cracked a brilliant smile at the sight of her and Jazmine didn't know if she should be flattered or worried because she couldn't remember the last time she woke up to Caesar being in a good mood. After a split second of debate, Jazmine decided on the former, shooting Ceasar a small, but tired smile. "Good morning."

Caesar walked over to Jazmine's side of the bed and placed a quick kiss to her temple, before sitting down on the edge next to her. Ceasar's smile was quickly replaced by a look of concern, his hand falling heavily on Jazmine's sheet covered ankle, as he asked, "How you feelin', babe?"

Jazmine almost screwed her face into a mask of confusion before she remembered. Right. She had walked into the house the night before after leaving Huey's house (she tried not to think of how mad Caesar would get if he ever found out about that) feigning some type of sickness and crawling into bed before he could see the guilt that she knew was written all over her face. "Fine."

"You sure, J?", Caesar pressed the back of his cold hand to Jazmine's forehead. The tenderness of the act surprised Jazmine even though she knew that it shouldn't have. That was one thing that Jazmine could never understand about Caesar. He had a Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde type of personality where on some days he was full of misdirected anger towards her and on others he was kind, and attentive, and sweet, even. Jazmine told herself that she would enjoy Dr. Jeckyll for as long as he was around because he was a hell of a lot better than Mr. Hyde. "You didn't look good last night."

Jazmine managed a small smile. "Baby, I'm fine. Don't worry, it was nothing."

Caesar looked dubious, but didn't press the issue, something that Jazmine was thankful for. "Alright. Do you have to work today?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Caesar began to trace small circles on the bed, his gaze diverted away from Jazmine's. He looked hesitant, nervous almost, something that Jazmine thought strange what with Caesar's confident attitude. It was a sight that she wasn't used to seeing. ''I was, uh, wondering if you wanted to go out for lunch today."

Jazmine couldn't refrain from quirking an eyebrow. He was just full of surprises and it wasn't even eight in the morning yet. "Like, together, just you and me?"

There it was again, Caesar's bright smile stretching across his handsome face as he chuckled, his dark brown eyes shining. Jazmine thought that if she could have Caesar like this all day, every day, she might be happy. "Yeah, together, you and me. Unless you don't want to..."

"No, no, I do! That would be nice." For some reason, at that moment, Caesar's attitude suddenly made her want to try harder, to put some effort into making their relationship the way that it used to be. The bad thing about it was that Jazmine couldn't decide if she genuinely wanted to or if it was because she could still feel the imprint of Huey's soft lips working their way up the sensitive column of her kneck and the tingling touch of his hands on her waist from the night before.

"Great. Look, I gotta get going," Caesar rose from the bed, placing another kiss to Jazmine's lips and pushing a stray, wild curl behind her ear, "but I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah, have a good day." Jazmine watched Caesar walk away from her and out the room. Upon hearing the front door slam closed about a minute later, she flopped onto her back, her gaze stuck on the stationary fan above her. She only stayed like that for a short moment before she staggered out of the messy bed, deciding to get ready for work even though she didn't need to be there for another two hours. With the silence now filling the apartment, she needed something to distract her from her thoughts and a shower, she figured, would do just that.

* * *

><p>"Riley, I have to go!"<p>

"Just one more, bae, come 'ere." Riley pulled Sherise by one of the belt loops on her skinny jeans, bringing her flush to him and thoroughly kissing her, his hands roaming over backside, not letting up until they were both short on breath. Riley smirked smugly as Sherise pulled away from him, a blush lightly coloring her pretty face. "Now you can go."

Sherise smiled shyly, but rolled her eyes, as she reached for the doorknob and pulled open the door. She started at the sight of Cindy on the other side, who stood with her hand raised as though she were just about to knock. Riley, stopping in his tracks, blanched at the sight of her. Oh, shit. He couldn't help but feel like he had just gotten caught with his hands in the cookie jar- well, Sherise's cookie jar.

"Oh! Hi!", Sherise said, as nice as ever, shooting Cindy a charming smile and snapping Riley out of whatever trance he was in. He watched Cindy smile back, fakely, but Sherise couldn't tell the difference. She didn't say anything and Riley could tell that it was because she was trying to hold back any smartass comments. He needed to say something, quick.

"Uh," Riley reached a hand up to scratch at his braids (oh yeah, he definitely needed to holler at that heifer Jazmine. That ho wasn't gonna get away with not hooking his hair up after he did her a favor. She was gon' pay what she owed.), "Sherise, dis my homegirl Cindy dat I was tellin' you 'bout."

Riley saw Cindy lift an eyebrow and shoot him a questioning glance. He shot her a look that said, ''Yeah, bitch, I mentioned yo' ass here and there. What about it?" Riley earned a quick eyeroll.

Sherise seemed to be oblivious to the silent conversation taking place between the two others as she said, "Oh, right! It's so nice to meet you. Riley's told me a lot about you."

"It's nice to meet you, too." If Riley hadn't known Cindy the way that he did, he probably would have thought that she was being sincere.

Sherise turned back to Riley, saying, "I'll see you later?"

"You know it." With a small wave, and yet another smile towards Cindy, Sherise walked away, making her way towards the staircase at the end of the hall. It wasn't until the sight of her long, black, swishing ponytail vanished from view that anything was said between Riley and Cindy.

"Well, ain't she cute?", Cindy said, sarcasm dripping from her sickly sweet voice. With her pursed lips, crossed arms, and icy blue eyes it was a sharp contrast.

Here she go...

"Aw, don't start dat bullshit, Cindy. Not today," Riley said turning on his heel and walking back into the apartment he shared with Hiro.

Cindy entered behind him, shutting the door as she did so and wrinkling her nose at the sight that greeted her. She sidestepped an empty beer bottle. Didn't these fools know about picking up after themselves? "Whatchu mean? I ain't say nothin'."

Riley rolled his eyes at the blonde. Her eyes were green and not because she had been eating vegetables. As much as Cindy hated for Riley to get jealous, he knew that she could get that way, too. She just hid her jealousy in slick comments and an aloof attitude. "Nah, you ain't say nothin' but that don't mean you don't want to."

Cindy didn't admit that what Riley was saying might have been true as she pushed a stack of textbooks over to the other side of the sofa. "So how long you two been...together?"

Riley gave Cindy a look of disbelief. Her ass couldn't be serious right now. Riley popped his teeth. "Come on, C. It ain't even dat deep. Me an' her is just...chillin'."

"Right." Just chillin'. Everybody knew that just chillin' was never as simple as Riley tried to make it out to be.

Riley glared at Cindy, but, for once, bit his tongue. This wasn't worth getting into an argument about seeing how he wasn't even her nigga and she was still fuckin' with that square ass dude Jamal. If Riley couldn't say shit about Cindy and Jamal, something she had made clear before her ass left him alone in that damn cafe almost two weeks ago, then who was she to say anything about his little thing with Sherise? Besides, Cindy knew what was up. She was who Riley wanted- he told her hard-headed ass that shit every chance he got- but her crazy ass refused to get with the program. Riley shook his head. These bitches be trippin'.

"Whateva. Look, I ain't 'bout to argue wit' yo' white ass today. I'm in too good of a mood. What you doin' over here so damn early anyway?"

"I don' know. I thought maybe we could hang out. Hit the basketball court or somethin'."

It wasn't until Cindy said that, that Riley noticed her attire for the first time. She was dressed in her basketball shorts and a hoodie, her long blonde hair in a single braid that sat over her shoulder. Cindy hardly wore her hair braided anymore (she told him some shit about it making her look like a little girl) so on the now rare occasion that she did, it made him smile. Riley screwed his features into a scowl after a short moment. Real niggas didn't smile.

"Shit, hell yeah. It's been a minute since I slayed yo' trash talkin' ass on the court."

Cindy jerked her head back, an affronted look on her face, before she fixed Riley with the stink eye. "Fool, please, somebody lied. Yo' ass got lucky that day. I was only off my game 'cause I had cramps."

Riley snorted. Getting Cindy to admit defeat was like pulling teeth. "Nigga, the score was twenty-one to nine. Yo' ass lost fair an' square."

"Well, I bet you it won't happen again. Now, would you bring yo' ass on?"

"So, the wedding's coming up. You excited?''

* * *

><p>Jazmine played with the tip of the white straw that sat in her glass of water, taking the straw and poking at the ice cubes in it, as she schooled her face into a smile. "Yeah, I can't wait."<p>

Lies, of course.

But as long as Caesar was trying, she would too.

Caesar returned her smile with a bright one of his own and grabbed Jazmine's left hand that had been resting on the table. She had to refrain from tugging it away at the touch of his cold fingers. "Hey, I wanted to ask you about something."

"What is it?"

''I was thinking that, uh, maybe we should give the couples' counseling that Reverend James suggested a try."

Jazmine regarded Caesar almost suspiciously as he waited patiently for her to respond. It struck her as strange that when the topic had first come up at the meeting a few months back with the Reverend, who would officiate their vows, Caesar had vehemently turned it down. Why the sudden change of heart?

Jazmine slid her hand out of Caesar's as she sat back in her chair. She saw something akin to hurt flash quickly across Caesar's face before it was gone in a flash making her wonder if she had just imagined it. She let her fingers run over the prongs of her fork, faintly wondering where the waitress was, before saying, "I didn't think that you wanted to do that."

Caesar shrugged lightly. "I do now."

Jazmine bit her lip, running a hand through her long curly hair. Counseling, in order for it to work, would require that they be completely open and truthful with one another. Half of the time, she couldn't even be truthful with herself when it came to her feelings, how was she supposed to do that with Caesar?

"Um, I don't know, I-"

Jazmine stopped when Caesar's phone began to vibrate and shrill loudly on the table, her gaze falling on the offensive object. She watched Caesar, with an irritated eye roll heavenward, snatch up the device, looking at the screen, and after a moment of internal debate with him glacing from the phone to her, a sigh fell from his lips. "Shit. J, look, I gotta take this. I'll be right back."

Really?

Jazmine, with a frown attatched to her face, watched as Caesar quickly arose from the seat across from her, his cell phone glued to his ear. She wondered briefly who it was that Caesar was talking to and considered asking when Caesar returned to the table, but she dismissed the idea as quickly as it came. Jazmine couldn't find it in herself to care.

Her green eyes scanned the restaurant, glancing at the few other patrons having lunch. She caught sight of a blonde haired boy a few tables away, who couldn't have been much older than one or two years old, gaping at her with wide, blue eyes, his little body turned around fully in his booster seat to do so. Jazmine found herself smiling at the toddler as she lifted her hand in a small wave. He let loose a loud, joyful shriek of laughter before turning away, his little hands hiding his face. It wasn't long before the boy was at it again, staring at her and then giggling uncontrollably and shielding his face bashfully when Jazmine made a funny face. A moment later a woman that looked to be a few years older than herself, who Jazmine guessed was the small boy's mother, shot her an apologetic smile and turned the boy around so that he was sitting in his seat properly. The sight of the mother fussing over the boy made Jazmine sigh, feeling a dull ache in her chest from an old wound that she didn't think would ever quite heal. She had almost had that, but what did she do? She ran.

At that moment Caesar finally returned to the table, looking stressed, his jaw clenching with a frown etched onto his face.

"What's wrong?"

Caesar looked at Jazmine regretfully. "That was work. I have to go, babe. I'm sorry."

''Seriously?'' Jazmine asked plainly.

''I know, J, but it's important," Caesar reached into his pocket for his wallet and fished out what he knew would be enough to cover the check. Caesar moved to place a kiss to Jazmine's lips but ended up pressing one on her cheek when she turned her head to the side. Caesar rolled his brown eyes. ''Come on, J, don't be like that.''

''I'm fine. You should go. You know, since work is so important.''

Jazmine saw Caesar narrow his eyes at the shade that she threw him. Any other time the look that he wore would have filled her with trepidation, making her tread lightly, but now she was just tired, too ready to wave that white flag only a few hours into her promise of trying harder at their sham of a relationship.

''I'll see you tonight?''

Jazmine looked at Caesar, seeing the way that his eyes bore into her own letting her know that his statement was less of a question and more of a demand. He would see her when he stepped foot into their apartment and if not...well, there would be a lot of unpleasantness.

''Yeah.''

Jazmine watched her fiance walk away from her until he was out of the door. She shook her head. It seemed like she was back to dealing with the inconsiderate Caesar, a far cry from the sweet, attentive one that morning. She didn't know why she was so disappointed. There was a part of her that screamed 'I told you so.'

Suddenly without an appetite and not wanting to sit alone any longer, Jazmine reached inside of her purse and into her wallet to tip the waitress because she knew that Caesar had only left enough to cover the bill. She stood a short moment later and, after pushing in her chair, walked out of the restaurant, her head held high and her gaze trained on the door away from the sympathetic, almost pitying eyes of the young mother with the blonde haired baby on the other side of the restaurant.

* * *

><p>"Ah, hell nah! Fuck dat!"<p>

Cindy kicked the worn basketball sending it crashing into the rusty wire fence that closed off the basketball court from the rest of the park. She spun around, her long, blonde braid whipping in the air and pointed at Riley, who was at the three point line doing some type of celebratory dance. Or having a seizure, but Cindy didn't really know or care. "Nigga, you cheated!"

Riley abruptly paused in his movements, something Cindy was glad for because she didn't know how long she could look at him do that and not start laughing. Which she didn't want to do. She was mad at his ass. "Da fuck you mean I 'cheated'?

"I'm talkin' 'bout dat wack ass move you pulled. You did dat shit to throw me off my game!"

Riley rolled his eyes. It wasn't his fault that when Cindy had her ass (Riley bit the inside of his cheek to keep from cheesing. Ooh lawd, dat ass!) all over him trying to keep the ball away, that he sorta-kinda-accidentally-on purpose let his hands get a handful of her backside. The blonde had gone stock still, letting Riley swoop down, steal the ball and shoot the winning shot. Shit, it served her ass right. She couldn't be backin' it up on a nigga like that and not expect him to react in some type of way. Did Cindy want him to fuck her on this basketball court? "I'on know whatchu talkin' 'bout, dude. You lost fair an' square, so deal wit' it."

Cindy's blue eyes formed slits as she glared at Riley. Lyin' ass nigga. He knew what he was doing. Turning away from him and his lively rendition of "Niggas In Paris'', she said, "Whateva, Riley. Where da hell is my gatorade?"

"Somebody mad."

"Shut up, cheater."

Riley pursed his lips, but said nothing. It was whatever anyway; Cindy wouldn't stay mad at him for too long. He swiped at his brow and said, "Yo' you ready to dip? I wanna hit up da corner store."

"Yeah, let's go." Cindy reached up and snatched down the hoodie that she had taken off and hung over the short fence sometime during their game. Once she tugged it on over her black tank top, she kicked the basketball Riley's way, who stooped down to pick it up. As they walked side by side, the sound of their feet and the ball hitting the pavement as Riley repeatedly bounced it was the only sound between them, until they reached the store, Riley letting Cindy walk in ahead of him. Riley went to the back of the tiny, cramped store, picking up a bottle of water and a Gatorade for Cindy. He was considering it an apology for his 'cheating' as she liked to call it.

Riley reached the front of the store where Cindy waited for him at the counter. He noticed the cashier, a guy he called Iggy simply because he couldn't pronounce his real name, gaze lasciviously at Cindy, and at that moment, even though he was cool with Iggy, Riley wanted nothing more than to reach over the counter and pop him one good time in the mouth.

''Yo, buy me some Skittles,'' Cindy said, her voice pulling Riley away from his threatening thoughts.

Riley shot Cindy a wildly incredulous look. ''Girl, please, you da rich one. If anybody should be payin' for anything it's yo' in the top one percent ass.''

Cindy rolled her blue eyes. This nigga...''You know what, I'll buy my own shit. And you better not ask for none of it.''

''Do you, boo boo,'' Riley said in voice that mimicked Kevin Hart, making Cindy jab him lightly in the upper arm. As Riley paid for his things, he shot Cindy a smile that made her melt. ''Girl, you betta chill. You know you don't want dese hands.''

Cindy smiled back, ''You ain't 'bout dat life, Reezy.''

''Yeah, okay.'' Riley snatched his bag away from Iggy, daring him to shoot Cindy another look. ''Come on,'' Riley ushered Cindy out of the store, his hand resting lightly on the small of her back.

Cindy rolled her eyes. Although it felt nice to have him doing so, she didn't need Riley jumping up to defend her honor every time some guy let his eyes wander.

''Here,'' Riley tossed Cindy her Gatorade, ''I'm sorry for cheatin' even though it wasn't cheatin' 'cause I was already slayin' yo' ass.''

Cindy glared at Riley. Unfortunately, she knew that that was as close to an apology that Riley was going to get. How sad. ''Thanks.''

Riley slung an arm around Cindy's slim shoulders as they walked together and she pressed herself into his side, an unconscious and immediate reaction. ''You know you my girl, right?''

'My girl.' Cindy smiled, but refused to admit that she thought it had a nice ring to it, despite her reluctance to make it happen. ''Yeah, I know.''

* * *

><p>Huey rolled his eyes toward the ceiling for what was probably the twentieth time in the last fifteen minutes since Stacy walked through his door, her incessant voice grating on his nerves. He figured that that was why she didn't have a man: she talked too damn much.<p>

"...and then I was like 'bitch, say what?' And then she was like, 'Who da fuck you callin' a bitch?' So I was like-"

Huey, in a moment of despair, considered chopping off his ears or something. She just kept going, and going, and going. Huey inhaled and then, after counting slowly to ten, exhaled. With a newfound patience, Huey said, "Stace?''

The girl paused in her rant, her eyes falling on Huey for the first time during the entirety of their one-sided conversation, and placed a hand on her hip. "Huh?"

"Please...shut...the fuck...up."

Stacy immediately sucked her teeth, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring ferociously at Huey. She dropped the look, replacing it with a pout, when, after a moment, she noticed that he wasn't fazed in the slightest bit. "Why you gotta be so mean to me, Huey?"

Huey huffed. Sensitive ass.

"Fine. Can you please find something else to talk about? Or, here's an idea, just don't talk at all."

Stacy ignored the last part of Huey's statement, saying, "Okay, then. Who was that woman I saw you hangin' outside with yesterday?"

Huey wondered how she could have possibly seen him and Jazmine before remembering that the girl knew about anything and everything that happened in or around their building. He rolled his eyes, annoyance shining in them. Yesterday with Jazmine had been tense and overwhelming to say the least. And then Huey kissed her...he contemplated just how far Jazmine would have let him go if Caesar hadn't called. Probably not very far. Although Huey just knew that Jazmine didn't love Caesar, he also knew that she wouldn't do the man wrong. She was just too good of a person for that. Huey shot his neighbor a plain look. "I said find something else to talk about, not stick your nose in my business."

Stacy, undeterred in her mission for information, sidled up to Huey, who sat on the couch with his gaze turned to CNN, smiling sweetly. "Come on, Huey. You ain't gotta front with me. You my people. Besides, who am I gon' tell?"

"Nobody-"

"Exact-"

"- It's not like you got friends, anyway."

Stacy gasped loudly, hurt crossing her features and her head jerking backwards. "Nigga, I have friends!"

"Then why are you always over here, bothering me?"

"...We not talkin' 'bout me! We talkin' 'bout you and that girl. So, who is she?"

Huey eyed the ceiling. Would it be okay for him to ask God for the strength to deal with Stacy's prying ass even though he wasn't religious? Huey shook his head and looked back at Stacy. He didn't really want to tell her, but the girl was like a dog with a bone when she was being nosy. "Her name is Jazmine."

Stacy sat back on the couch, a thoughtful look on her face. "Hmm, she's real pretty. Are ya'll datin' or somethin'?"

"We used to."

Stacy side-eyed Huey, "That was your ex?"

"That's usually what 'we used to be together' means," Huey said, the sarcasm rolling off of his tongue easily.

Huey felt a light smack to his bicep. "Don't get smart with me. What are you doing talking to your- oh my goodness!" Stacy gasped loudly and pointed a finger at Huey, her eyes so big that for a second Huey thought that she resembled a red-headed Tracy Ellis Ross. "Ain't that the girl that you had just broken up with when you first moved in? The one that had you lookin' like a heartbroken fool for months? Wait-", Stacy studied Huey for a moment and waved a hand, "Never mind. You still look like that."

Huey sucked his teeth and stood from the couch. Her ass thought she was funny. "Stacy, get out."

"What? Why? Huey, I'm tryin' to help yo' ass.

"Sorry to tell you Stacy, but you aren't helping. Not at all," Huey walked over to the door and slided the chain, opening the door wide. "Bye, Stacy." You ain't gotta go home, but you need to get the hell up outta here.

Stacy pouted, dragging her feet as she walked slowly over to the door. Huey placed a hand on her cardigan covered back to help speed up the process of her getting out. Huey kicking Stacy out of his apartment was something that he did at least three times a week, so he didn't feel bad when she started up complaining about how she would be bored in her own place.

"Then go buy a damn cat, Stace. That should keep you occupied."

"Nigga, you know we can't have animals! And I'm allergic to cats!"

Huey groaned loudly. He couldn't believe that he had once considered going out with her annoying ass. "Then I guess yo' ass is gonna be bored and lonely, huh? Go, home Stacy."

Huey quickly shut the door in his neighbor's face and turned the lock. He could practically feel Stacy glaring at the door, her arms crossed, and her lips in a pout. Too bad he didn't care.

"You get on my nerves, Huey Freeman!"

Huey shook his head. These women be trippin'.

* * *

><p>''What are you doing?''<p>

''Kissing you.''

''Well, stop it.''

A sigh was heaved and then, a beat later, ''You know that you don't want me to.''

''This is wrong.''

''How?''

''Are you fucking- you know I'm getting married!''

''And? That's not happening for, what, another month and a half?''

''So what, Lena? Look, you said that it was important on the phone, that you had to tell me something. What do you want?''

''You.''

Caesar sighed heavily, leaning against the off-white painted wall of the hotel room, the same hotel room he had been in when he had tried to cut things off the week before, anger clawing at him. She just didn't know when to quit did she? His brown eyes studied her. With her naturally tanned skin and long, raven hair, his Latina coworker was beautiful, though she didn't hold a candle to what he had at home. And when Caesar thought that, it was usually followed by, 'Then what the fuck are you doing?' He could never figure it out. Was it the sex? Maybe, he and Jazmine hadn't been intimate in a while, but he was sure that was because he kept fucking up. Was he bored? Not really. Or was it simply because he liked to have his cake and eat it, too? ''That's not possible, Lena, and you know it.''

Lena crossed her arms, glaring harshly. ''Why not?''

''Because...I love her.''

Lena smiled prettily, her head shaking as she walked slowly up to Caesar, stopping just a few inches shy of him. She played with his tie wondering if his girlfriend or whatever bought it for him. ''That would be sweet...if it were true.''

With a flare of anger, Caesar pushed the woman away from him, making her stumble a bit in her tall red stilettos. ''You don't know what the fuck you're talking about.''

Lena merely rolled her eyes and straightened out her black pencil skirt, realizing, with annoyance, that she wouldn't be getting anywhere with Caesar that night. Caesar was getting irritated, and she would hate for his anger to be directed at her the way she knew it was towards his girlfriend occasionally. ''Fine, maybe I don't, considering I'm on the outside looking in, but do you really think that she loves you? I mean look at the way that you treat her!'', Lena scoffed. ''It's sad really, the way that you've deluded yourself into thinking that despite everything you've done to her- the cheating, hitting, lying- that she still loves you unconditionally.''

Caesar stared at Lena, his handsome face devoid of any emotion to betray his wild thoughts. Of course Jazmine loved him. They had their disagreements, but at the end of the day, they loved each other and Caesar knew that for a fact. So to have Lena in front of him doubting their relationship filled him with a fury that made him want to lash out at something, anything.

With a long suffering sigh, Caesar moved away from Lena, running a hand through his shoulder length dreadlocks. He avoided her piercing gaze and held his tongue, choosing instead to snatch up his jacket from where it lay over the still neatly made bed, shrugging it on. He brushed past Lena on his way to the door, pushing away the hand that she reached out to grasp his hand.

''You know I'm right, Caesar.''

He paused, his hand on the handle of the door, as he considered Lena's taunting words. After a moment he quietly said, ''Lose my number, Lena.''

Caesar walked out of the room. No, Lena was wrong. Dead wrong.

* * *

><p><strong>Someone mentioned in a review that I've been taking forever to update. I hate making you guys wait, but life is hectic right now- I just had the SAT and prom, and exams are next week- so please, lovely readers, bear with me :) <strong>

**Like always drop me a review, tell me what you think, please. **

**Peace, guys.**


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